The Walking Wounded
by arysoakheart
Summary: "Whe whole world is dead, Zoe. And it's only a matter of time until we are too." TWD-TV Verse. Daryl/OC
1. Stretched Chains

**A/N: Alright. So, apparently this story was deleted because the Summary didn't meet the rating guidelines. Which, is, I'm not really going to complain about it because it's not going to help; I've upped the rating to 'M' and I am reposting it. **

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead is (sadly) not mine. However, I do own the Portman family. **

"_We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break."-_ Marquise de Sevigne

God Dammit; A groan emitted from deep within my throat as I turned the dial on the control panel once again, switching it on and off several times. Now isn't the time to be driving around in eighty degree weather without a working air conditioner, but alas, I was. Ah, the things I do for family. Deciding to take the old fashion route of cooling down I rolled the two front windows down until they could go no further, and just cracked the two back windows open. Littering was illegal in the state of Georgia, and cops usually didn't the buy the story of things just spontaneously flying out of cars, but, they really should be; it's happened to me several times in the last ten hours. Yes, ten hours. I rested my arm against the open window panel and turned the radio up, letting the music of the ninety's float out into the wind, letting the breeze carry it over the farms and the trees, the cow pastures I passed and the few farm houses that were still standing despite the modern society's fascination with urbanization. I could feel the sweat building around the brim of my nose where my sunglasses began to sag, falling down my face until they finally resembled the look of an angry librarian, but, who was really going to see me out here anyway? I was already going ten miles over the stated speed limit any way, just eager to get off this desolate stretch of road that I had been traveling on for what seemed like forever. I hadn't stopped once since I retreated from the University of Maryland at seven o'clock this morning; deciding to get a head start before the summer vacationers and student drivers seeped out onto the roads for a last minute trip to Ocean City and the Outer Banks. The woman's retched and somewhat scratchy voice flew from the radio crackling my speakers as she sang the chorus over again; I smiled, still remembering the first Cranberries concert my older brother and I went too. I was thirteen and he was eighteen, our parents didn't even know we had snuck out on a school night, taking the only bus that was willing to travel the three hour route to Atlanta. "What's in your head, in your head? Zombie, Zombie, Zombie-"My voice was dwarfed by the singer as I bobbed my head along; I had never really understood the whole meaning to this song, but, it had a catchy tune. Probably had a deeper meaning to it, but, I would never figure it out on my own.

I watched as the speedometer hit the seventy mile per hour mark, my foot instinctively tapping on the breaks to slow down, I may not have been in here in over a year, but I knew that cops liked the catch speeders on this hill. When I first got my license when I was sixteen I got caught on this road many times…but never was I issued a single ticket. Why? Thank god for my parents being saints, not to mention that my younger brother used to be best friends with the sheriff's son. I crinkled my nose as sweat beaded above my lips, the salt making me thirsty already. I wondered what ever happened between them. Little Steve McClain used to come over to the house and play cops and robbers with Jacob all the time when he was little, they raised hell in the stables that were stationed just a mile behind our house, and even broke into Mr. Stanley's backyard a few times to steal peaches for my mother's Peach Cobbler…I never told her about that though. I promised I never would. The faded sign that came into view brightened my spirits, a mile wide smile crossing over my face as I read the cracked while letters, some of this missing the white tone completely; _Welcome to Augusta_. _Exit on next right_. I had my blinker on quicker than a jack rabbit and took a sharp right, forgetting to slow down enough. I had promised my mom and dad that I would come home for the summer months, since Maryland really wasn't my cup of tea, especially in the summer time. Their climate was drier than ours, and not to mention the mugginess of the air in the early morning, hell, it could have been the exact same weather in Georgia, but, for some reason it just felt better. Not to mention that I was completely and utterly homesick. I didn't have to glance at the other sign that was on the side of the road to know that I was a mere twenty minutes away from my destination.

The neighborhood my parents resided in hadn't changed a bit since I left. Every house looked the same, all the yards matched perfectly, a few peach trees were scattered around here and there; those were the ones my older brother and I would get our after school snacks from before our little brother was born. Jacob, our little brother, was a bit of a loner, he always had been. Never had many friends like Jason and I did, though, you wouldn't know it. Everyone spoke highly of Jacob when he was smaller. Everyone knew he was the more best behaved of the three of us, the one that didn't take many chances or come out of his shell for anything or anyone, for that matter. I glanced up at the family picture that was taped to the underside of my visor; it was one of the few camping trips that the whole family was able to go on. Dad had woken us up one day about oh, seven years ago, declaring that we were taking a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska. We thought he had lost his mind, but alas, he hadn't. We didn't even have time to get dressed that morning before he threw us all the in the car, mom still in her curlers and all, and drove to the airport that would take us on a straight threw flight to Alaska. The Aurora Borealis was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I remembered standing there, bundled up in several layers of winter clothes that dad had rented from the cabins we were staying at; hats, gloves, six pairs of socks, two heavy sweaters, and a giant coat. My two brothers stood on either side of me, mom and dad standing behind us as we all marveled at the colors of green that danced and layered the starry sky overhead. I still don't know why he took us there; I guessed it had something to do with Jason joining the Military that year. Stupid, I still hate him for that. It's harsh, I know. I should be happy that I have a brother that's putting his life in danger for my freedom, for his freedom, for Jacob's freedom; but I still haven't been able to bring myself to accept it in its full scale. It isn't enough that I write letters frequently, it usually takes him weeks to write back; I probably sound like an over protective and worried girlfriend, believe me, I don't love my brother like that.

Jay was the one I looked up to the most, the one person I could saw that was a true hero in my eyes. He was a compassionate fellow, always putting the less fortunate before himself, especially when we were in school. He was kid that was friends with kids that other people didn't like, were too afraid to talk to. He was the kid that stood up to bullies, the kid that spent his Christmas mornings at the soup kitchen, the kid that ,one year, donated all of his presents to Salvation Army. I was so deep in thought that I had to slam on the breaks to keep from hitting the six preteens that ran out in front of me, the tires screeching to a halt as they all stopped, looking like a bunch of deer stuck in the headlights. I glanced out of the window only to see their basketball finish rolling across the street, hesitantly, and not quickly enough for my tastes, they ran after the ball; allowing me to continue on route to the house that was forgotten deep in the woods. Not really, it just seemed that way. It was an old plantation house that my mom and dad fixed up before Jason was born. My parents were both seventeen, and had only been dating a few months before my mother found out she was pregnant with Jason. They both, and surprisingly with the blessing of their parents, got married and the rest of the family helped fix up the old house that no one wanted to buy. The wrap around porch was always decorated with flowers and a least one rocking chair, and a swing had hung from the biggest branch of the peach tree that was sitting out front. I smiled as the mansion like structure came into view; the American flag blew in the hot breeze.

I thought it was odd when I pulled into the driveway, my gas light oh-so conveniently blinking on; thank god it waited until I got home. I glanced at the dash board as the green numbers changed, five o'clock sharp. Only one car sat parked in the concrete entrance, I could tell from the cleanliness that it was my fathers. Pulling my old dirty car up next to his I stepped on the break and put it in park. Excitement coursed though my veins as I got out of the car, slamming the door shut in hopes that whoever was still inside would hear it. I had half expected my mother and father to run from the house, screaming and laughing at my presence, but nothing happened. That's when the sound of mechanic tools caught my attention, the roaring of what sounded like a buzz saw was muffled behind the doors of the two car garage. I scoffed under my breath, a smirk finding its way onto my lips. "Figures." Deciding that I'd get all my bags in later, I stalked off towards the garage, knowing it could only be one person. I rolled my eyes as my ears were greeted with the sound of a few tools clanking to the ground, closing the door quietly I bent down so I could look under the 1968 Black Mustang that sat in the middle of the garage, taking up most of the space that was usually reserved for the Christmas tree and seasonal items that my mom refused to move to the basement. My dad was getting too old for this stuff, he'd already hurt himself several times before, trying to fix the same exact car; he'd been working on it since I was a sophomore in high school. He grunted a few times as he took the wrench up into the underside of the car, I wasn't sure what he was trying to fix now. First it was the engine, then it was the tires, then it was the muffler; I didn't know if he could do anything else to this piece of crap.

"Dad?" I questioned, letting my presence be known. I hadn't meant to startle him, but I guess the volume of the baseball game that was playing on the portable television that was stationed over by this enormous toolbox. He lifted his head quickly, hitting it against the underside as he cursed quietly; I grimaced at the phantom pain as he slid out from under the car, groaning slightly. I had already stood up from my spot on the floor by the time he was out from under the vehicle, his brown eyes still closed, face stained with oil and hands calloused. "Dad, you really can't be doing this stuff anymore." I laughed as I grabbed his arm, glad I was dressed in an old t-shirt and shorts, and if they got messed up I wouldn't care any. He grunted as he lifted himself up off the floor, with my help, of course. I looked him over; he'd really let himself go. A beer belly had begun to form; it was easy to see it under the greasy shirt he was wearing, his hair, although he didn't have much, was turning gray in some areas, and I could tell his bones were killing him. He huffed in response and smiled, taking a rag from his back pocket and dabbing his face.

"Says who?" he retorted, his perfectly straight, toothy smile beaming at me. "Come here," he beckoned, holding his arms open for me to fall into, and I did so quickly. Relishing in the fact that I was going to be able to wake up and know that my family wasn't hundreds of miles away from me. I crinkled my nose as the smell of gasoline seeped into my senses, making my head spin slightly.

"Ew, Dad." I said pulling out of the hug, slowly. "You smell." He rolled his eyes and placed a hand on my back, leading me towards the door that lead from the garage and into the kitchen, grabbing the remote and turning the small television off in the process. This house hadn't changed, as he closed the door I observed the place that I had called home for the first eighteen years of my life. The walls were lined with pictures of us children, from the time we were born to the time that we graduated. A vase of flowers, and a bowl of freshly washed peaches sat on the small desk that hosed the telephone and a few phonebooks, the kitchen was cleaner than I had remembered though. "Where's Jacob?" I asked leaning against the counter as dad got a bottle of water from the fridge, downing it quickly. He waved in my direction as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips. That wasn't a good sign. Once Jason left the military Jacob had become a completely different person, he shut himself off from his friends, and stayed in his room most of the time; reading comic books, and playing some of the most violet video games known to man, not the mention some of the movies he had begun to watch. It got so bad one time that our mom had called me crying, saying that she didn't know what to do with him anymore.

"Probably upstairs," he sighed, looking in the direction of the flight of steps that led form the foyer to the second floor. His eyes held concern, and slight annoyance; I knew my dad was worried about him, but, he didn't know how to deal with Jacob, no one really did. It wasn't that he acted out or anything…he didn't act out enough, didn't express his emotions enough for us to read him. "You mind gettin' him down here, Zoë? I need his help with a few things." He said the last bit with a forced tone; making it known that he didn't expect the preteen to listen, or do an ounce of work around the house.

Sensing that he didn't want to stress the issue any farther I began my way though the familiar outline of the home, my legs slowly propelling me up the white carpeted steps, passing by a plethora of framed pictures. I heard the back door close; probably dad going to start whatever he needed Jacob's help with. I could already hear the sounds of his video games through the half opened door to his, well, my old bedroom. Like any younger sibling of a high school graduate, he had deemed my sizeable room his when I went off to college. _"Piece of shit!"_ I could hear his voice practically scream, almost as if the very thing from the television was clawing its way towards him. The volume was so loud that I could hear the gun shots and groans of the creature from the video game clear as day. I crept up to the door quietly, pushing it open just enough so that I could see the back of his head. The messy hair of curls blew to the side as a gust of wind whipped through the room from the open window; I watched the scene unfold on the screen. I could see why he yelled at his video games, they were intense. _"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Eat this bitch!"_ I couldn't believe what I was hearing; he never cursed like this before, I sure as hell hoped it was just a stage that he was going through.

"God, Jacob, you do know that dad is still home, right?" I asked from the doorway as I pushed it open a little wider, the clothes that were piled on the floor blocked the door from opening any farther. My eyes widened as I looked at the mess; old dishes, soda cans, and empty bags of chips littered the room. I never messed up this room when I lived here. Jacob spun around quickly, starring at me wide eyed for a moment, all the while, this character on screen had succumbed to the teeth of the undead creature, and its mangled robotic voice wheezing as fake cyber blood splattered the screen. He slammed his controller down in a fit of rage and stood up, showing that he was still considerably short compared to me.

"Jesus, Zoë! Don't fucking do that! When did you get home anyway?" he yelled, obviously upset by my intrusion. I rolled my eyes at his childish antics and stepped into the room, fearing that my feet would be stuck in the array of clothes like quicksand. I glanced around at his walls; posters of severed heads, and undead beings lined the white faces.

"A few minutes ago." I answered, coming up to stand in front of him as I narrowly dodged several of my mother's dishes. She'd have a fit if she learned that they were in his room, and looked as if they hadn't been cleaned of their food in over a week. He nodded at my answer and grabbed a few clothes up from off the floor; it looked a t-shirt and pair of jeans, stains embedded in both articles of clothing. "Dad says he needs your help with a few things." He groaned and rolled his eyes as he grabbed the remote from the top of his bed, flipping the television off, but not the game, he probably planned on coming back to that later.

"If it's with that stupid car, I'm not doing it." He mumbled. "Ever since you left," he pointed at me; I tried to hide the smile that was already forming on my face. Fixing cars wasn't my dad's job, no; he was a teller at the Warrenton Bank. Fixing up old cars was just his hobby, a hobby that he liked the share with his children. You see, when Jason was still around, he helped him with the car, but when he left for the U.S Army, I was my dad's second choice to help him with it. I quite enjoyed learning about the parts, it made me seem a little smarter than the boys at my school when I could point out what was wrong with their vehicle and they couldn't. Sadly, I only remember how to change a tire, the oil, and how to fix a headlight. Jacob, however, didn't seem very enthuastic about the concept. "He's been begging me, and begging me to learn about that shit. When am I ever going to need that I life anyway? It's like math." I wrapped my around him and ruffled his hair slightly, earning a few grunts as he wiggled out of my grasp, fixing his hair, not that hit helped much.

"You'd be surprised, Jake. I've had to use it all the time." I reassured him. He rolled his eyes as he began to stalk out of the bedroom, leaving me in the room that I once called my own. Shivering at the dead faces that were starring me down I grabbed the video game case that was lying on top of the television set. Crinkling my nose in disgust as I looked at its front image; Left 4 Dead, I didn't even need to know what this game was about, the title said it all.

"Mom!" I yelled as I ran down the steps of the front porch, looking down every now and then to make sure that I wasn't going to miss a step. The sun had just set over the horizon, the burning ball bending towards the floor as night threatened to take its place. I could barely contain the excitement as she stood from her car, still in her scrubs from the hospital, hair pulled back in a messy bun, and not an ounce of make up covered her brown porcelain face. She was just as giddy as I was as she threw her arms around me in a tight hug, never wanting to let go. She held me out in front of her for a moment, observing everything from head to toe, her bottom lip quivering. "Aw, mom, please don't cry." I begged, I hated it when she did that.

She shook her head as she lifted a finger to her eye, wiping a tear away. I could feel myself getting emotional as well; I could just picture dad and Jacob standing at the door, rolling their eyes at our girlish ways. "Oh, honey, I'm not." She tried to convince me, but, I knew otherwise. She laughed as she hugged me again, holding me close. "I'm just-I'm just so happy to have you home. You have no idea what it's like living with those two." She finished as she pulled away, a smile adorning her face. "Come on, you can tell me about your trip while we make dinner." Once we had gotten everything inside and put away dad and Jacob went on to set the table, my mother whispered to me several times that she was surprised by Jacob's interaction with the family, stating that it was because I was here. I rolled my eyes coyly, that's exactly what it was. My mouth watered as the savory smell of mash potatoes, sloppy Joe's and my mother famous Broccoli and Cheese casserole floated in the air. Jacob was already sitting at the table, anxiously awaiting the food. Dad had gone down to the stable to feed Bundy, the family horse, and mom and I were finishing up the last of the dishes while the food cooked. "Jacob, can you go tell your father that dinner's ready?" she asked from her place at the oven as she removed the casserole.

Jacob grunted in response before he retreated towards the back door that led to the somewhat lengthy walk to the stables, but, he didn't have to go very far. A few seconds later he was inside, stating that dad was already halfway here. I swear that man had the nose of a bloodhound; he could smell anything good a mile away. A few minutes later we were all seated around the table, each of us bowing our heads in a quick prayer before food was passed around like a conveyer belt, each of us taking more than we could possibly eat. "This is nice." Mom stated, looking around as she took a bite of her Sloppy Joe, savoring the taste. We all looked at her, puzzled as to what she meant, she must have sensed this. Swallowing the mouth of food quickly she downed it with a gulp of freshly made iced tea, before she continued. "You know, having the family back together." She went on. As if on cure the rest of us dropped out eyes towards the plates of food in front us, finally acknowledging the empty seat on the other side of the table; Jason always sat there. Jacob was even unnervingly quiet about the subject; it just wasn't the same without him here. Mom, realizing her mistake, rubbed her temples with her fingers lightly, sighing out heavily as she began to dig into her casserole.

"Has anyone heard from Jay, anyway?" I asked, forking a piece of potato into my mouth. Mom shrugged her shoulders and looked over in my dad's direction. He was stock still, his hands resting on each others as he listened to the conversation around him. Jason was a sore subject with my dad; I mean he was his first born, and he had to watch as he was shipped off to Afghanistan without warning. She looked back at me and continued with her eating.

"No, no. I mean," she went on, "He sent a letter out a few weeks ago. He seemed to be doing fine. I mean, as good as you can get in a place like that. What about you?"

I nodded as I took another bite of my food, completely clearing my plate of the casserole; I beckoned Jacob to pass the dish my way so I could have a second helping. "Yeah, like month ago. Said he and his regiment were being transferred to Iraq this month." I finished, not sure how accurate the information really was. Dad scoffed at my reply, mumbling something about having our young boys over there when they should be living their lives and not fighting to protect the ones that don't deserve it. Mom placed a hand on his shoulder, calming him down as she repeated a slew of agreements with him. She then looked in Jacob's direction, inquiring if he had heard from his older sibling as well.

"What are you lookin' at me for?" he snapped defensively, pointing to himself as his curly hair fell into his face, "I don't talk to him." I rolled my eyes at his increasing temper, sitting back in the chair as I yawned. It had been a long day; all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep until noon tomorrow, maybe even later.

"Oh, Jake," I said, remembering what I had found online earlier today befor I left for Augusta. "There's a Black Keys concert in Atlanta next month, you wanna go?" I asked, knowing full well that The Black Keys were one of his favorite bands, I had gotten their album for him last Christmas, and mom told me that he absolutely loved it. I saw his eyes light up for a second at the thought, I'm not sure if he had been to a show before or not, but, his face suddenly fell as he bit his bottom lip.

"Umm, I don't know about next month." He said slowly, his looked as if he was thinking about something. "I mean, it's a pretty big month for me." I quirked an eyebrow as his declaration.

"What could you possibly have to do, Jacob? You don't have a job, I'm pretty sure you're not doing your summer projects, and- wait- do you have a girlfriend." I asked, my eyes lighting up just at the thought.

"No." he raised his voice as he looked at me, disgusted. He must still be in that 'girls have cooties' stage. "I've got a World of Warcraft tournament coming up." He confessed. I sniggered at this new information, causing him to roll his eyes as he watched my cheeks burn red. "Go ahead and laugh. You won't be when I win the two thousand dollar prize." I still continued to laugh, merely at the fact that they actually had legitimate tournaments for that game. My roommate's boyfriend back in Maryland used to play that game nonstop, I'd only ever once watched; it didn't seem that fun or exciting to me. We all looked as my mother stood up from the table, dropping the napkin down onto the face of the perfectly polished and sanded oak set as she walked towards the television that was on the wall in the living room, just in our line of sight. Men were on the screen, a suit and tie completely the professional look they were going for. The tallest man's voice rang from the speakers as she turned up the volume, apologizing for the interruption as she walked back up to the table.

"Sorry, guys." She apologized as she sat down, turning to face the screen. "They've been talking about this thing all at work. We've got a few people in quarantine down their already, but, I'm pretty sure it's just the regular flu." She reassured us_. H1N1- A Threat to Humanity?_ The banner at the bottom of the screen read.

"_Look, we're not telling people to be afraid. We have concrete evidence that worst-case seniors are likely to be avoided with this outbreak." _ The tall man explained to the blonde newscaster. She nodded along with what he was saying, looking down at the stack of papers that were on the table in front of her before looking back up.

"_But they are still possible, correct?_ She pressed. The other tall man sitting to the right of the original giant nodded in a response, sitting forward in the beige arm chair as if he was ready to school her.

"_As with any other virus, yes, yes there is a possibly that this can turn into a global pandemic, but,"_ the man went on, holding up a finger as if to show that he had another point to make, _"What everyone needs to realize is that, science has come along way since 1918." _

"_So, you're saying that this strain of H1N1 doesn't have anywhere near the capacity to kill millions like the one that swept the nation ninety-two years ago?"_ The blonde pressed again. The tall man looked bewildered by the question, my eye brows furrowed at his expression as he looked down at the floor momentarily, straitening out his suit before he looked back up, starring right at the cameras as if he was starring into the eyes of the millions of Americans watching this program; something in those eyes of his were haunting, scared almost.

"_That's exactly what I'm saying." _

"Can you believe that?" Mom said, obviously flabbergasted by the news that she had just heard. I wasn't sure what she was so surprised about; whether it was the new information that she had just learned, or pure fact that she probably knew more than those guys were, I couldn't tell. "Is the college taking measures to make sure they don't get that stuff?" she asked, standing up from the table as she took my father's and Jacob's plate into the kitchen so they could be washed. I leaned back in the chair and yawned again, this time adding a stretch.

"Yeah," I answered. "I got vaccinated last month. It's mandatory for all students and staff." I finished, standing up so I could take my own plate into the kitchen so she wouldn't have to make two trips. She nodded in approval and looked at me with a loving expression.

"Oh, honey, you look beat." She cooed. I probably looked worse than that, I hadn't slept since seven o'clock that morning, and while driving I didn't even stop except for a bathroom break here and there, but nothing major. I practically lived on chips and soda on the drive up. "Why don't you go up and get some rest, alright? We'll catch up on everything tomorrow." Sleep sounded like a great idea, but, I had already made prior engagements.

"I will," I answered leaning up against the counter as she scraped away the old food from the dishes, "But, first I promised dad I would help him with the car for a while." I smiled weakly, knowing that she wouldn't like that idea very much.

"So, how's college life?" Dad asked as he leaned up against the table of his workshop, a cold beer in his hand as I leaned against the car, the hood was open revealing the new high powered engine he had installed about a month ago. I looked at him and smirked; there were some things about college life that I just wouldn't and couldn't tell my parents.

"Oh, it's- its fun." I replied, not wanting to go into much detail about anything. I mean, it wasn't terrible; it wasn't like I was sleeping around with a different guy every weekend, or experimenting with drugs. I just didn't want to tell him that his little girl practically drank herself into oblivion a few times, and woke up in a stranger's bed once, thankfully fully clothed and not impregnated. Her dad chuckled, but didn't press the issue any farther. "How's everything here? Jacob seems a little better." I observed, crossing my arms over my chest as he took another sip of his beer.

"Your brother's got a rude awakening for him when he gets out into the real world, we'll jus leave it at that." He replied, his face turning red. He set the now empty bottle of beer down on the small wooden table and leaned against it. "I just- I just don't know where we went wrong, ya know? I mean you and Jason turned out great-"

"Dad," I stopped him, knowing that if he finished that sentence it would haunt him for the rest of his life. "Jacob will around. Trust me; he's just- he's just wrong. Okay?" I tried to explain, scratching my chin quickly to keep from yawning. "It's just that preteen, oh-woe-is me phase. We all went though it."

"Yeah, but not like this." He snorted, pushing himself off the table as he walked towards the car and I. I moved out of his way and stood to the side as he pulled the hood of the car shut, locking it in place before he rubbed his temples. "I'm just worried about him, that's all. I just want him to be an independent person when he finally grows up. You know, he looks up to you and Jason." He finished. "What's why I was wondering if you could talk to him while you're here." I looked at him and crossed my arms over my chest, nodding. I'd do anything to help my brother, my parents knew that, but, you can only help somebody that wanted to be helped; I wouldn't be able to force him to do anything.

It was only a few moments later that I declared that I was going to bed, and that I would talk to Jacob in the morning about it all. Dad wished me a goodnight and placed a kiss on my cheek, reassuring me that he would be in his own bed in a few minutes, just after he cleaned up the work shot a bit. The room that they had moved all my things into was Jason's old room; some of his stuff still lingered on the wall. I would have investigated it more, perhaps even declared some of it for my own if I wasn't on the brink of passing out already. I changed into a pair of comfortable cloth shorts and a t-shirt before crawling under the covers and closing eyes, the power of sleep overtaking me within in seconds. However, the power of the sandman was only so strong. I had tossed and turned several times that night, turning the pillow back over to the cold side when I felt my sweaty hair sticking to the pink pillow case, throwing the covers off of myself several times in an attempt to cool myself off. The dryness in the hair had be practically begging for water by the tenth time I had woken up; maybe that's what I needed, a nice cup of cold water would quench my thirst and I would be able to sleep. I slowly crept down the steps, holding onto the railing as my eyes continued to adjust to the darkness, my heart racing in my chest. I hated the dark and everything to do with it. Just the fact that I couldn't see something that may be standing there drove me to the utmost fear. I was surprised that I had actually made it into the kitchen without running into anything.

Opening the fridge I shielded my eyes from the blinding fluorescent light that flooded into the room, illuminating anything that might be hiding in the darkness behind me. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and unscrewed the cap before bringing the brim to my lips, gulping down the chilled water quickly. I shivered as the cold from the open ice box blew in my direction, it was satisfying actually, if I could crawl in there and sleep I would be a happy camper. I was relishing in the cold air that the sound of the front door jiggling almost escaped my attention, key word, almost. My blood ran cold, and it wasn't from the fridge being open either. A sickening feeling ran its course though my system; you know, the feeling that you get when you know you're not alone, yet, you are? I thought I was hearing things until it sounded again, this time a little louder. I could feel my heart race, my breath coming in short rasps as I shut the door of the ice box. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness just enough that I could see the outline of the door handle moving once to left, and then to right, and then to left, and then to the right. I stood there, knees quivering, and nerves on their very end as I watched a figure move slowly outside of the distorted glass; they were tall and looked to be hunched over. I was sitting duck, having absolutely no where to run I walked forward, grabbing the candelabra from the display desk as I passed; the door jiggled again, and it opened. The figure stepped inside slowly, a painful groan falling from their lips. I gasp, a scream arising in my throat.


	2. Shady Trees

**Warning: Contains racial slurs & language.**

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead is (sadly) not mine. However, I do own the Portman family. **

"_A good many family trees are shady"- _Robert Elliot Gonzales

The candelabra in my hand clattered to the ground with a bang, slipping in my sweaty grasp as I looked at the individual standing in front of me; his head was shaved, broad shoulders hunched as he carried the weight of what looked like a giant duffle bag on his back, the emblem was shadowed by the darkness. The figure looked up at me, I could tell just by the way his brow furrowed in the darkness that he was confused; my jaw fell open, I didn't know whether to scream or turn the light on first. "Jason!" was the only thing to leave my mouth before I leapt at the figure, my arms wrapping around his neck as the duffle bag fell from his shoulders, clattering to the ground. His arms enveloped me as he kept me close to this chest, my own hold on him refusing to loosen any. "Oh my god," I breathed out, feeling tears welling in my eyes. "What-What are you doing here?" slowly I released my grip, allowing my heels to touch the cold wooden floor of the foyer. He smirked down at me, his lips curling into a smile.

"What? You're not happy to see me-"he began to tease as I released him from my death grip, before Jay could even finish his sentence, the light had flipped on, momentarily blinding us. In correlation with the blinding lights hurried footsteps pounded on the winding steps, and my mother's worried voice echoed off the stillness in the room.

"Honey, what's-" I turned just in time to watch the expression of surprise cross over her features; her jaw dropped much like mine had, her slipper clad feet pounding against the steps again as she descended the last few. "Jason?" she asked in disbelief, tears filling in her eyes as she rushed forward, gripping either side of his face in her hands, examining him from head to toe, making sure he was really there. Within an instant she pulled him close to her, their arms encircling each others as the mother and son exchanged a moment, her muffled sobs of happiness and relief sounding in the hall as Jason hugged her back. "How-How did you- how can you-"she, just like me, couldn't even begin to find the words to explain the elation that we all had. Not a second later another pair of footsteps descended the steps; these were heavy and loud, the soles of the man's dark feet pounding against the carpet was much more potent than my mothers quite ones. Jason looked up as our dad stopped at the bottom of the steps, eyes wide and starring; he doubted whether Jason's presence was really here.

"Son?" he asked, stepping off the bottom step and onto the cold floor. My mom placed a hand over her mouth at the sight; father and had son had always been close. She could see that each day that passed without Jason killed my father a little inside.

"Dad." He greeted him his arms encircling the older man in a hug. My father clapped a hand on his back several times, rubbing it reassuring as he held his eldest son close. My mom and I were such girls, crying at the scene that was unfolding in front of us. Jason pulled away slowly, our father holding him out in front of him, much like my mother had; examining him from head to toe, making sure he was still the perfect child that he had left this place as. My mother nudged my elbow with her own, telling me quietly to join her in the kitchen; it didn't look like either of us were going back to sleep tonight. I could hear Jason chuckle as we left the room. "Jacob still asleep?" as we entered the kitchen, my mother and I listened to the foot steps ascending the steps loudly, knowing that in a matter of moments the wrath of a very angry preteen was going to be unleashed upon us all.

I shook my head as I watched my older brother scarf down the waffles that our mother had made; topped off with whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate syrup. It was a breakfast that she usually made for us on the weekends when we were little, I had already finished my plate, the four cups of coffee I had this morning wouldn't allow me to eat anything else for days. You probably think, by the way we reacted, that we thought Jay was dead, right? He might as well have been; sometimes we went months without hearing from him, none of us watched in fear that we would hear about his convoy getting ambushed, we were always worried to answer the phone, or when the door ran unexpectedly; fearing that it might be 'the messengers' coming to tell us of Jason's death, or even worse, MIA. I just didn't understand how he could have gotten leave, and traveled all the way Georgia from Afghanistan without the reserves warning us first. "Hey, Jay," I asked, wiping sleep from my eyes. He looked up as he wiped his mouth with his napkin, throwing the dirty piece of fabric down at the other end of the table, hitting Jacob square in the face; he mumbled something along the lines of 'ass-wipe' and continued eating his food, practically falling a sleep in it. Shaking my head at his antics, he positioned his attention to me once again.

"What?" he questioned mouth still full of food as he scraped what was left off his plate. I rolled my eyes again; I would have thought that going to boot camp would have at least helped clean up his table manners, guess not.

"How did you even get here?" I asked, wishing I had worded the question a little better, knowing he would have a smart ass comment to follow.

"Well," he snorted "Theres two major forms of transportation that could be used to get from one side of the world to the other. There's a boat, which would have probably taken days to get here. So I opted for the more traditional and more accepted form of traveling-"I held up my hand to stop him, a smirk on his face as he leaned back in the chair, tipping it up on it's two back legs as his knees pressed into the table; the chair wobbled and he immediately placed all four legs back on the floor.

"No, what I meant was, what made you come back. I mean your commandeering officer probably wasn't too happy about you leaving right in the middle of a war, ya know, just to visit family." I pressed, propping my elbows up on the table as my chin rested on my hands.

Jason shrugged his shoulders and folded his hands atop the table as he clicked the tongue on the roof of his mouth. "Well, I mean- I hadn't seen my little brother or sister in almost a year so I decided to come visit, ya know, surprise you guys." He chuckled slightly. I knitted my brows together; I never told him I was coming home for the summer.

"Jay," I said slowly, a nervous laugh rising in my throat, "I didn't tell you I was coming home for the summer." I informed him, squinting as I tried to remember whether I had or not. Jason looked equally nervous, his eyes widened slightly, but so noticeably that it caused me any alarm; an awkward silence filled the space between us, that is until Jason's equally uncomfortable laugh arose.

"Yes you did." He challenged me, "In your letter-like-like two months ago." He chuckled again, a yawn emitting from his mouth. "You don't remember?" I shook my head, a nervous chuckle silently escaping my lips; it was a possibly that I didn't remember, I mean I could barely remember what I had for dinner last night, let alone something that I wrote in a littler months ago.

"I guess not." All was quiet in the kitchen, aside from the birds chirping outside of the window, and Jacob's soft snoring from the other end of the table. Jason glanced his way and smiled as a line of dribble fell from the teen's mouth, I, on the other hand, was utterly disgusted by this. It was nice having the family back together; maybe it could be like old times.

"Dad still working on that car?" Jason asked as he turned in his chair, watching me walk towards the sink. The dishes submerged themselves into the icy water, soaking up the lavender aroma that the suds were engineered to smell like. I placed a hand on my hip and turned towards him with that 'what to do you think' look, a smirk appearing on my lips. Jason laughed, looking astonished. "Are you serious? He's been working on that thing for years. He's got to have the engine in there at least?" he stood up from his spot at the table; I thought he was going to assist me in washing the dishes, but alas, his older sibling duties kicked in. I watched as he walked over to Jacob, his body taking a place behind the snoozing teen's chair, grabbing the back he lightly tipped it back. Jacob jolted awake, sucking the spit back into his mouth as his eyes danced around the room, confused. Jason chuckled and I shook my head.

"Yeah, but, I'm pretty sure it was recently put in. He didn't even have tires when I came out during spring break." I answered, raising my eyebrows at him. Jason laughed hardily, watching as Jacob retreated to the living room, we could hear his body flop onto the couch.

"Well, you know dad, he won't stop until that thing is finished and fully operational." He snorted, leaning against the counter. "Maybe we could fix it up for him." I laughed at his suggestion; it was a generous one, but not my cup of tea.

"Jay, the only things I remember how to do are change a tire, check the fluid, and fix windshield wipers." I informed him, throwing the dishtowel onto the marble counter top, watching as it slid the rest of the way on the polished surface. Jason shrugged and shoved his hands into the pockets of his military issued pants.

"Come take a look at it with me then."

Dad must have been in here before he went back upstairs to get the rest of his sleep; the radio was on, softly playing a Blue Oyster Cult song, the guitars and soft voices echoing off the garage walls. Jason shut the door quietly behind him, whistling as he looked at the Mustang that sat in the middle of the room; its clean coat of paint reflecting the lights that were stationed overhead. "Well, it's certainly a lot nicer than I remember it." He observed, standing to the side. I shrugged and turned the radio off, leaning up against the table that was over in the area that housed his small workshop.

"Yeah, but if you want my opinion he's getting a little too old to be doing work like this. I mean, you remember the last time he threw his back out, right?" I reminded him, motioning to the small board that was lying on the floor, so that its wheels were straight up in the air, the red toolbox sat next to it, the lid opened and lying off to the side; yep, dad had defiantly been in here. Jason nodded and rested a hand on his hip as he continued to observe the car, I remembered when that's what he wanted to do for a living…not fight for his country. "So, how long are you here for anyway?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as I walked closer to the car, watching as Jason popped the hood, his hands gliding over the high powered engine that dad had just put in.

"Just until Thursday." He answered a hint of sadness in his voice. My face fell momentarily; today was Tuesday, how in the hell could he just fly twelve plus hours from Afghanistan to only stay not even two days? It just wasn't making sense. Before I could further question him on his stay the door of the garage opened, both of us looked up from the opened hood of the car, starring at my father as he stood in the door way, smiling from ear to ear.

"Well, look at that. Not even seven hours here and you're already playing with this thing." He observed, smiling at the two of us. Out of the three of his kids, we were the only two that ever helped him fix up old cars, well, mostly Jason, but, since I wanted to be like my older brother I would pick up a wrench every once in a while and 'help'. Jason looked over at him and smiled, letting dad know that he admired the progress that was being made on the vehicle. "Listen, I gotta go into Warrenton in a couple of minutes. The dim-witts that sold Mike that engine thought it would be funny to take the piston out." He huffed, resting a hand on his hip, looking visibly upset as he looked at the engine. Jason looked at him and laughed.

"You didn't check that before you put the engine in? You know you've got to take the engine out just the reinstall the piston, right?" Jason asked. Dad nodded, smiling brightly as he clapped a hand on his back.

"That's why I'm glad you're here, son." I smiled and rolled my eyes slightly; it'd been a while since I'd seen dad this happy…it was nice. "Oh, Zoë, you wanna come to?" he asked, not wanting me to feel left out. I waved him off, making my way towards the garage door.

"Nope. Mom and I are gonna go down to the stables for a bit." I informed him. He nodded in satisfaction and hurried Jason out to the truck that was sitting in the driveway; you could hear the ratty old thing for miles and miles.

**(Jason)**

Jason grimaced as the truck came to a screeching halt, the tires dragging on the surface of the asphalt road. His teeth gritted together as he dad looked at him, the same expression covering his features; several people looked at the old truck as they passed, mentally making fun of the old automobile. It was a 1940's truck; it was too outdated to even be on the road still. Jason groaned inwardly, knowing that he'd have to hear that sound all the way back to Augusta, for almost two full hours. Jason and his dad both exited the truck at the same time, the doors creaking as they opened and closed.

"See why I need to get that 'stang fixed?" his dad asked, jerking a thumb in the direction of the red truck, throwing a little chuckle in. Jason looked back at the hunk of metal and nodded in agreement, shoving his hands into his pocket as they continued on across the street to the small auto store, 'Mike's Auto Parts' was painted on a sign that hung high above the building, a few old cars sat out front, rusting. "So, son," his dad began as they neared the store, "The heat as bad here as it is out there?" he asked, referring to Afghanistan. Jason shifted uncomfortably, shaking his head.

"Georgia doesn't even compare to out there, dad." He chuckled nervously, opening the door for his father as he left him walk in first, a blast of cool air hitting them from one of the two fans that were positioned towards the door. "Plus, Augusta doesn't have giant ass scorpions." His father looked back at him and laughed.

"No, son. We just have hurricanes, oil spills, and the occasional drought and tornado." His dad chuckled at his son, walking up to the counter. He could hear a few boxes being shifted around in the backroom, signaling that someone was there.

"At least it's not sandstorms." About that time an old man hobbles from the backroom, overalls covering a dark red shirt, his boots clapping against the floor as he gave a hardy laugh, seeing Jason and his father standing there.

"Well if it ain't ole' Eugene Portman." The man said happily, walking up to the front of the counter. "Nice to see ya' again, brother." He greeted him, shaking his hand as they did that normal male handshake that girl's just couldn't figure out how to do.

"Good to see you too, Mike." He greeted him; he then turned to this son. His eyes beaming with pride as he held his son beside him, his hands gripping each side of his arms, showing him off like a trophy. "Mike, you remember Jason don't you?" Mike was silent for a moment, squinting his eyes as he tried to remember the boy; it suddenly clicked within him, even though the image he had of Jason was still the one that was in high school. Thick curly black hair outlining his heart shaped face. The old man laughed, smacking his hand down on the wooden counter top.

"O' course I remember him!" he exclaimed, a laugh erupting from his throat once again. "You cut all that hair off, did ya?" he asked, laughing again. "How the army treatin' ya, son?" he pressed. Jason nodded, knowing he wouldn't be able to get a word in otherwise, this man just talked extremely too much. "You shot any of them camel jockey's yet?" Jason looked down at the counter, shaking his head again at the use of the man's word.

"Now, Mike. Come on now." Eugene warned, cocking his head to side and laughing quietly at this friend. Mike was a spirited old coot, never really thought about what he said until it was out there for everyone to hear. "Anyway, Mike, I came here because I need a new piston." Eugene informed him. Mike gave him a confused look, knowing that he had come in not more than a couple of months ago for the engine.

"A piston? There wasn't one in the engine already?" he questioned suspiciously, leaning against the desk. Eugene shrugged and let his arms fall down by his sides in defeat, nodding.

"Yeah. I went to start the car and it started makin' all this crazy noise and stuff. Looked inside and by god." He exclaimed. Mike stood upright, groaning loudly as he brought his hand back down onto the table. He'd had it with those boys, this was the fourth time they'd brought him a defected car part; he was loosing valuable business because of them.

"God Dammit, those Dixon's just can't do nothin' right." He fumed, reaching under the desk and pulling out a store catalog, making sure that they had the part in stock. Mike was very picky about taking down all the information when someone brought in a car part, he just couldn't understand why these boys didn't bring in a fully operating one…ever. "Damn mummetfuckers, this is the fourth time they've done this to me." Flipping though the pages again, leaving Eugene and Jason standing there; the fan blew towards them again, cooling them off. Neither of them understood why Mike hadn't installed an air conditioner yet. Mike suddenly spotted the part he was looking for, telling Eugene that he'd be back in a flash he left the two men standing there as he hobbled to the back of the storage room.

Jason and Eugene stood there for a good amount of time without any interaction between the two of them. Jason's eyes roamed around the store, holding his hands behind his back as he took in the cobwebs that were scattered about the ceiling, lining the panels of wood that served as shelves of parts. A wall covered in utility gloves and other protective gear lay on the other side of the store, just behind the stack of oil canisters. A moment later the bell dinged, signaling that someone had opened the door of the shop. Both Jason and his dad turned, watching as two men walked in with a box; the man leading the other one was older, wearing nothing but a black vest, black pants, and black cowboy boots. Jason couldn't even begin to imagine how hot this man must have been. The man walking behind him was younger looking, but not by much, if he had to guess he'd say they were probably three or four years apart in age. He wore a black muscle shirt that was crafted from cutting the sleeves off a regular t-shirt, his feet covered by what looked like brown hiking boots.

The older looking male carried himself with pride; chest puffed out, walking tall, not a curve in his spine, the younger male seemed to be the same way, only he was trying too hard. The strides he took didn't make him look dignified, it made him look cocky. The older man gave both Jason and Eugene a look of disgust, mumbling as he pushed though them. "Outta the way, blue-gummer." Jason's jaw clenched, at the racial slur that had been directed towards him and his father. His father look in his direction, signaling for him to let it go; Jason had been in the army so long that he had almost forgotten about the 'southern hospitality' that he had left behind. The younger turned and glanced at the both of them, but didn't say a word, his eyes cold and hard. "Hey, Mike! I know you're back there, ya' tree-jumper!" the oldest banged his hands against the front desk, yelling again for the old man to come out from the back. "Mike! Daryl and I got more parts for ya'!" his voice was raspy, almost like he had smoked too many cigarettes. A few seconds later Mike emerged, pointing a finger at the man.

"Merle! You ditchpig! You get that stuff outta ma' shop!" the old man demanded. The man, Merle, looked at him in disbelief; glancing back at the younger man with a scoff as he practically threw the box onto the counter top, the metal inside the cardboard clanking together.

"This is only reason why this shop is still alive, you Swamp Yankee." The younger one retorted, placing his hands on the counter as if he was ready to jump over it any minute. Jason tensed, ready to spring into action if needed, even though it could cost him his spot in the reserves. "Cause' we keep bringin' you shit." Mike huffed again, suddenly drawing a rifle from under the counter; he'd had enough of their bullshit. Merle held up his hands fast, a tight smile gracing his lips as he laughed at the man; he was getting a kick outta this.

"You crazy old moon cricket." He bellowed, his hands still up in the air.

"I done told you two; don't make me tell you again! Get on outta my shop, go on, and go!" he ordered shoving the muzzle of the gun towards the two of them each second that they continued to stand there. The Dixon's weren't a stupid bunch, but, they weren't smart either though. Merle motioned for the younger one to follow him, retreating as he let his hands drop down by his sides.

"C'mon, Daryl." Daryl, the younger man, tipped the box of auto parts onto the ground as he backed away, a smirk covering his lips as he retreated with his brother. Jason glared at the two of them as they passed; the younger one still wore a triumphant and satisfied smirk on his thin lips as he passed, eyeing the other two men up. Merle, stopped beside him, taking in his attire. He knew this boy wasn't from around here, he knew the way the man held himself said that he was somebody to be reckoned with. "What you lookin' at, Buck Nigger?" he snorted. Jason starred at the man with a fire alight in his eyes, glaring as the man smirked. They held the stare until they were out of the door, the bell dinging as it shut.

Jason didn't waste a second, rushing over to pick up the fallen parts as Mike stowed his gun away. Jason scoffed as he threw the corroded and rusted parts into the box, heaving it up onto the countertop. "Thank ya', Son." Mike sighed, resting against the counter. "Oh, Eugene, here's the part." He held the piston out for Eugene to take, truth be told, he didn't feel comfortable leaving the old man here by himself, not knowing if the two men that had just raised hell in here were actually gone; Mike saw this and waved his friend on, chuckling. "Aw, Eugene. Don't you worry about me, brother. These old bones still got a little fight in em'."

**End Pov**

"Whoa, Bundy," I laughed, pulling on the reins to slow the Appaloosa down into a slow trot, waiting for my mother to catch up to me. I glanced behind me, seeing the silhouette of the bay colored Morgan that was cantering up the hill, its hooves throwing up dirt as it neared the dappled grey pony and I. My mom patted the side of the majestic beast's neck lovingly; horseback riding was a hobby my mom and I had always done together, kinda like Jason and my dad with cars. I always felt kind of bad leaving Jacob out of everything, but, he had his own thing that he was good it…it just happened to be one that rest of us weren't so good at. The sun was beginning to disappearing behind the clouds that were rolling in, neither of us had thought of brining a watch with us, so we weren't sure how late it was getting, but from the looks of it; it couldn't have been more than five o'clock.

"Think we should start headin' back?" she asked, placing her hand on top of the mound that protruded from the western saddle, pulling Jenkins' head back up from eating the grass that he was eagerly trying to nibble at. I squinted and cupped my hand over my forehead, keeping the sun from hitting my eyes before nodded.

"Yeah." I answered, making a clicking sound with my tongue as I put more pressure down onto my left heel that was in the stirrup, turning Bundy to circle around to descend back down the trail we had just traveled on. "The guys are probably dying. I don't see how Jason's making it out there." I laughed. None of the men in the family knew anything home ec; laundry was a foreign custom, cooking was too hard and required people with a broader attention span, and they put cleaning on the same level as quantum physics. Mom laughed as she pulled Jenkins up next to Bundy, their giants identical as we left the setting sun behind us.

"That's easy. The military cooks for em', just imagine what his life would be like if he wasn't in the army." She laughed both of us probably picturing the same thing; Jason's kitchen would be overflowing with TV dinners and nothing else if he had chosen a job out in the work force.

"You know he's only here until Thursday, right?" I asked, unsure if Jason had broken the news to my parents yet; I was sure Jacob and I were the only two who knew. She looked at me, eyes sad and wide, mouth hanging open at the new information.

"No, no. I didn't know that." She said sadly, letting her head hang for a moment before she looked back up, itching her chin momentarily. "It was nice having him here though." She added, smiling brightly. "I'm just grateful the military let him take a leave of absence for a short time." She looked deep in thought for a moment as she knitted her brows together, confused. "I've never seen then do that before though."

"Oh, hey, I was thinking about taking takin' a trip over to the Outer Banks, and maybe Virginia Beach, possibly Orlando." I informed her, I had been hoping that we'd take our annual family trips for a few days, last time we went was when Dad and I went on a fishing trip in Louisiana; I hated it, not the trip itself, but the whole fishing part…I wasn't convinced that he enjoyed it either. Mom looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "Ya' know, try and get Jacob out of the house for a while, away from the video games." She smiled as she heard this, I thought this would be a great opportunity to talk to Jacob about the way his life was heading, I mean, sure, he's only thirteen years old, but, he's got to learn about it some time.

"Just you and Jacob?" she questioned, her eyebrows raising, amused. I laughed, and nodded.

"Yeah, well at least just in the outer banks; then you and dad can meet us in Orlando." I informed her, both of us knowing that I wasn't going to be able to control Jacob by myself for long, hell; I didn't even know how I was supposed to get him out of the house.

"I think he'll enjoy it." She laughed, though her tone indicated otherwise. I was contemplating on wheter or not asking Jason to stick around for the trip, not just because it would be a real family trip then, but he seemed to be the only one that could put Jacob in his place.

**Duggard's Farm House; 7:45 pm. Alabama/Georgia Border **

"Momma!" the young man's accent was thick as he stumbled in the door of the farm house, the screen giving away for the hundredth time that week. The boy cursed under his breath, wrapping the red and black plaid shirt around his hand again, the cap lazily falling off his head as he stumbled in the door way, panting. "God Dammit, Momma!" he screamed again, enraged by his mother's lack of attention. His mother rolled her eyes, the contestants on the television stating that they were going to buy a vowel, she laughed at their ignorance; the chair creaked as she tried to sit up, grunting as she fell back into the seat, sweat already building upon her brows. She was severely overweight, hair grayed with old age, and her face wrinkled. She groaned an 'aw, hell' as her son hollered for her again, his footsteps frantic as he ran into the living room. She'd never seen the boy so white in her whole life; his eyes were wide, hands trembling.

"Boy," she started, grunting as she finally sat forward in the chair, turning the volume down on the television immediately. "What on earth is ya' problem?" she asked, the boy continued to tremble; taking the shirt from his arm he thrust it out towards her. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; what in god's name happened to ya'?" she asked concerned. The wound on his wrist was almost unbearable to look at it; it was skin deep, red liquid seeping from the veins, but, it didn't look like it hit any of the important ones, at least not to her knowledge. The skin was already puffy and red.

"I don't know." He said, wrapping it back up in the bloodied shirt. "I was down in the barn, feedin' the fuckin' pigs. The things started squealin' and all that other mess, turned around to calm em' down and some fuckin' hick bit me." The woman's eyes widened, if that was even possible considering that she was quite sure that her eyes couldn't get any bigger, having already stretched their limits.

"A person bit ya', Billy?" she asked again, not sure if she should believe the boy; he did have a tendency to lie about things. "Are ya' sure it wasn't a dog."

"I think I'd know if a fuckin' dog bit me, momma." He spat I her direction, cradling his arm against his chest again. The skin beneath the swollen bite felt as if it was on fire, almost like something was rearranging within him, be began to sweat. "I ain't no dumbass, it was one of those fuckin' muppetfuckers down the road; I know it was." He continued to rant, tears burning at the back of his eyes. A sickening feeling rising in the pit of his stomach, he pushed the bile back down, closing his eyes as chill washed over him.

"Well, we'll just figure that out latter, Billy." She replied, attempting to get up from her arm chair, but failing miserably. "Right now though, we gotta' get cha' to a hospital." The boys laughed hardily, but painfully slow, this throat feeling as if it was beginning to close up; he swallowed hard.

"Yeah, right momma. You wouldn't be able to get outta' that thing if the house was on fire." He said coldly, breathing heavily. His vision blurred momentarily, quickly catching himself as he swayed to the side. "I'll just patch it up and get it looked at tomorrow." Billy didn't know what was happening to him, throughout the night he bit the blanket between his teeth, his body racking is spasms as waves of pain washed over him every few minutes, and then they began to come every few seconds. As the waves of pain got closer and closer to together he found it difficult to muffle his sobs, but he couldn't move. His bones felt like glass, they would shatter if he even made one twitch, and the fever. He felt as if he had been submerged in an oven; sweat poured down his face, soaking his clothes to the bone. It wasn't until twelve o'clock on the dot that it all stopped; the pain subsided slowly, his heart beat slowly until his chest discounted its natural rhythm of it's up and down motions, his eyes shut. The last image he saw was the face of the moon glaring at him though the bedroom window.

**A/N: Well, guess the infection has started! Hope that was enough Dixon fix for ya'! They won't be reappearing for a good amount of time -dodges bullets-. I know, I apologize! But, I want to get the Portman's adventure out of the way before they meet up with our favorite survivors. **


	3. Life is an Experiment

**Warning: **Zoë's Pov will be the ONLY ONE written in first person

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead is (sadly) not mine. However, I do own the Portman family. **

"_All life is an experiment_."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

**Duggard's Farm House; 8:15 am. Alabama/Georgia Border**

The heavy set woman tapped her foot on the floor impatiently. Her slipper clad foot pounding against the wood that was beneath her feet, hands on her hip as she glanced up the flight of squeaky steps that spiraled before her. An angry sigh escaped her lips as she wiped the sweat from her brow. The ceiling fan overhead did nothing to squelch the heat as it continued to radiate though the small farm house; finding its way in though the many cracks that the structure was riddled with. "Dammit, boy." She hissed again, she'd been standing at the bottom of the steps for almost fifteen minutes now, her legs quivered and ached as they desperately tried to support her weight, sweat dropped down her neck; flies buzzed around the room, she'd never seen so man of them in her whole fifty five years of living in this dump. "Billy!" she hollered up the steps again, trying to catch her breath, she swore he was starting to not only look like his late father, but he was beginning to act like him too; there was no way she was letting that happen. She grunted in frustration when there was no reply, not even a sound of him tumbling from the bed or shutting the door on her voice. "Damn boy is gonna be the death of me." She sighed as she began to ascend the steps slowly, the steps creaking beneath her weight, almost as if they were going to split in two and let her be swallowed up by the darkness underneath. Billy just should have been happy that his mother let him sleep in this morning, usually she would have in up at the crack of dawn to feed the pigs down at the stable, plus, they had the slaughterers coming to pick up a few of the animals today; she hoped they'd get a hefty price this time. She let him sleep in late because she heard him up late last night, making the most horrible noises, she suspected it was from that "bite" on his wrist, once he was up and about she was going to call their neighbor just a few miles away; she was a doctor, they wouldn't have to pay the atrocious hospital fee if they got her to fix him up.

"Billy." She called again as she reached the top of the steps, holding onto the wall for support as she tried to catch her breath; you'd think she just ran a mile on a ninety- eight degree day if you saw the sweat that was pouring off of her at that moment. She shook her head and wiped the sweat from her head with the back of her hand; still no response. She mumbled to herself as she walked towards his bedroom, seeing that door was closed was she raised an eyebrow; he never slept with the door closed. Call it mother's intuition, or just a hunch, but, she knew was something was wrong. She gently opened the door, the hinges creaking as it slid across the wooden floor, the edge hitting the muddy farm boots that were positioned on the other side of the door. She shuffled inside, seeing that the covers were lumped up, well, at least she knew he was still in here and that he hadn't run away; not like that was one of her original assumptions anyhow. Something was off about the way his body was twisted within the sheets though; his foot hung out over the edge of the bed, sticking from beneath the blue sheets. The usual motion of the blankets moving up and down with her son's breathing, and the slight snores that usually flowed from his mouth were absent. She cautiously walked forward, heart beating rapidly against her chest; her palms began to sweat worse than they already were. "Billy." She said, shaking the group of blankets that were piled atop the boy, again, there was no response. "Come on now, boy. You gotta job ta' do before I can take ya on down to the doctor." She said shaking him again, this time with more force than before, but alas, no movement was made. "Billy yer' as stubborn as yer' daddy was." She chuckled slightly, a hint of nervousness mixing with the mild humor. She ripped the covers off his body, gasping at the sight that lay beneath the shrouds; Billy's limp body tumbled to the floor, the sound making a thump as his arms and legs flopped back to its lifeless position across the hard wood floor. His skin was a sickly pale color, blue-greenish almost, and the lips were pale and purple. Her hands flew to cover her mouth as a muffled scream escaped her lips, her hands trembled as tears washed over them, eyes wide as she continued to stare at the ghastly scene before her.

"Billy?" she whispered though a sob as she got to her knees, they ached, but not as much as her heat did at that moment. "Oh, Billy, please. Oh no, my little boy, oh Billy." She sobbed as she bent down, taking her only son's face into her hands; his body was so cold she thought her fingers would be frozen to his face in an instant. Tears continued to rush down her wrinkled face as she held him close to her, her lips pressed against the cold flesh of his cheek; she mumbled incoherently, begging god or whoever was up there to bring her boy back to her. "Oh god." She mumbled against his skin again, a muffled sob escaping her lips. "Billy wake up" she mumbled over and over again. She thought she had gone made when she saw the long lashes that her son had been blessed with flutter, she sniffled, letting the tears travel their way over the bridge of her nose, eyes wide. She held her son out in front o her, examining the cold face that was held in between her hands, letting her thumbs caress the ice. His eyes twitched beneath the stone cold eye lids, trying to open; she was speechless and paralyzed, a smile of joy returning to her face as she watched his eyes open slowly. He inhaled with a raspy gasp as his eyes fully opened, his mother's face fell. The once brown eyes were glazed over and glassy looking as they fell upon her face; it was almost as if he was looking through her rather than at her. Concern washed over her as he opened his mouth, a moan emitted deep from within his throat, his arms stretched out towards her, his slender and cold fingers gripping at the back of her neck.

"Billy what-" she was cut short as he came towards her again, she was surprised that she was able to keep him at bay; her hands still held out to his face as she looked at him, this wasn't her Billy. It was almost as if someone had taken him away from her and left his body behind, nothing but a shell. "Boy, stop that what's-"her words were cut off by a scream as he barred his teeth and pushed his body weight unto her. She didn't know what was happening until his mouth lowered to her neck, the teeth tearing at the leathery flesh; she screamed again, she could almost hear the muscles in her neck ripping as the boy tore at her flesh, her legs kicked under her, desperately trying to kick him off. Nothing was working; he stayed in his position, ripping the bloody meat from her neck, tearing the veins open like they were pieces of thin paper. She screamed again, and again, and again until all that was left was her twitching body.

**Warrenton General Hospital- 10:30 am. Warrenton, GA. **

Catherine Portman watched as the woman's chest rose and fell slowly, her breath whooshing out as she coughed; Catherine nodded her head, the tight curls atop her scalp moving with the jerk, not against it. She ordered the patient to take a deep breath in again as she moved the stethoscope to the other side of her chest, just in the middle. The woman took a deep breath again, but she couldn't hold it very long before she coughed violently, her hand encircling her growing stomach as she sat forward and finished the fit of coughing, placing her hand to her mouth. Nurse Portman removed the buds of the stethoscope from her ears and hung it around her neck as she jotted a few things down onto the file that was resting on the beside table, her necklace that featured three small charms resembling children jingled slightly. She turned back to the woman and smiled as she watched her place a hand on her stomach; it looked as if she would be due any day now. Miranda O'Riley was one of the four patients that had come in during the early hours of the morning, complaining of chest pains, and aching hands and feet. She was sure it was just the flu; it was no secret that there had been isolated cases of H1N1 in the area, but, none had been fatal thus far.

Miranda ran a thumb over her stomach and laughed, probably experiencing the little child kick from within; Catherine remembered those days, it was just a beautiful thing, knowing that you were about to provide life to another beautiful creature. Miranda looked up and motioned towards the necklace that was hanging around Catherine's neck. "You've got kids?" she questioned, trying to make conversation, the young woman coughed again, pulling up the bandaged hand from her side as she wiped flecks of spit away from her mouth. She was also one of the seven people that had come in reporting that someone had bit them, Catherine swore she had never seen anything like it. She nodded and smiled as she glanced down at the charms that hung around her neck, her fingers dancing on all three of their birthstones.

"Yeah, three of em'." She replied. Miranda laughed and continued to stroke her belly, her eyes dazed as she looked to the side. Catherine knitted her brows in confusion as she noticed the discoloration of her sclera; it was turning a light pink color. She shook it off, deciding it was probably from all the coughing she was doing. "Two boys and girl."

"How old are they?" she asked, sniffling as she wiped invisible mucus from her nose, she watched as the woman began to flex her hands back and forth, wiggling the fingers.

"Well, Zoë's nineteen, Jason is twenty-four, and my youngest, Jacob, is thirteen." She informed the woman. The pregnant woman glanced down at her stomach and smiled lovingly; Catherine had always been captivated by the fact that woman could fall so deeply in love wit their children before they even saw them.

"Oh," she commented, "Sounds like you've got your hands full. Can't wait for them to reach that age." She sighed, the discoloration at continued, changing from a slight pink to a dark red.

"Is this your first child?" Catherine asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she held the file in her hand, smiling.

"Oh, no." Miranda laughed, "I've got another one waiting on me at home. Sierra, she turns seven today." She informed her, her voice held a sense of sadness. This woman was nothing short of a saint; she had gone down to the homeless shelter near Crawfordville earlier that morning to do her weekly duties. Unfortunately, one of the regulars got out of hand and lashed out at her, sinking his teeth into hand as she tried to calm down the altercation that was doomed to breakout between him and another regular. She was trooper though, finishing up her shift until she could get to hospital; it was odd though, how the bite seemed to coincide with the fever and aching. They'd run test on her earlier…but nothing irregular showed up.

"Aw, well, you be sure to wish her a happy birthday for me when you see her, okay." She nodded slowly, "everything seems good, probably just at a side effect of the flu vaccine." Catherine informed her, still glancing at the woman's eyes that were getting redder by the second. "I'll be back in an hour to check up on you, okay?" With that, Catherine left the room. She'd never seen an influx of patients like this before; she'd only been in that room a few minutes. She looked at the patients that were being rushed to different rooms, some of them housed police as they took note of several bite victims; each of the people gave a different description of the perp…nothing was fitting together. She walked up the main desk that was in the ward, watching as the young assistant frantically answered calls and directed other nurses to different parts of the hospital. Her face as contorted in panic as a few officers ran down the corridor, restraining a man that was screaming at one of the nurses. Catherine set the file down on the desk carefully, adding it to the already sky high tower of dead tress that were before the blonde and anxious nurse, another nurse had joined them at the desk, Regina Martin; she was short woman, pixie cut black hair, and the skinniest legs anyone had ever seen. She was usually a lively woman, ready to joke with anyone that she came in contact with, but not today. She stopped before them, cradling her bandaged arm against her chest.

"Must be a full moon tonight." She commented, itching at the gauze. "Either that or the whack shack opened its doors for the day." Catherine looked down at her arm with concern, the other nurse didn't even notice Regina's presence as she delt with the officers that had asked to keep this man in a room, she argued against their request, saying that they needed to keep the rooms open for actual patients. "That guy in room 310 bit me." Catherine's eyes widened.

**Portman Residence- 11:45 am, Augusta, GA. Zoë's Pov**

"Hold that." Jason commanded as I stood by the open hood of the mustang, watching as he pulled the thin rod from inside the engine. He handed me the already grease filled rag that my dad used to change the oil and continued on with his work, carefully holding the rod out towards me so that I could wiped the old oil away. Seems that dad forgot to change the oil last night, either that or he was just too tired to do it. Once the oil was changed Jason closed the hood and wiped the sweat from his brow, I didn't want to believe the news when they broadcasted a code orange this morning; meaning that everybody should stay out of the heat at all costs. The fan that was positioned on the other side of the room was barely making a difference, blowing nothing but hot air in our direction. I stepped back and threw the dirty rag onto the table that was station just a few feet away. It landed on the table, right next to the television. "Alright, let's see if this works." Jason commented hopefully as I handed him to keys to the car, he crossed his fingers and got into the front seat.

I stepped back even more, moving off the side of the car so that I was standing in front of the television, blocking it from view. The engine roared to live, causing a smile to spread across my face as gave Jason a thumbs up. Dad was going to be ecstatic when he got home tonight; Jason and I had decided to finish whatever he had to fix on the car, which included vacuuming, checking the tires, and cleaning the interior. I went the extra mile and ordered a new radio that would be here within the week. Jason turned the car off and got out, smiling triumphantly. "Dad's gonna freak when he sees that it's finally done." He said chuckling as I handed him a clean rag so he could wipe his hands off. I nodded in agreement, he'd probably cry even.

"Maybe he'll take us all bowling tonight." I commented, rubbing my hands up and down my arms for a moment, my voice trailing off. Jason was leaving tomorrow, and I'm sure as hell my dad didn't know about it. "You know, doing something together before you leave." I looked up at him, his smile had faded, and his lips now pushed in a straight line as he looked down at me, biting his bottom lip. "Did you even tell him yet?"

He sighed out heavily, resting his hand against his head as he drug it down his face slowly. Son of a bitch; I let my jaw flap open, my hands falling down by my sides as I looked at him with disbelief. "You didn't tell him yet?" I spat, my brows knitting together in anger as I looked upon my older brother. He closed his eyes and looked around the room for a moment, shifting his weight so that he was resting all of it on one foot. He looked guilty about something, his lips twitched almost as if he was holding back a fit of tears. "What?" I asked, "Were you just going to leave in the middle of the night, and make up some bullshit excuse about you being called back?" I accused him, I hadn't been this angry with anyone in a long time. He looked down at the ground for a moment, almost like he was afraid to meet my gaze as he licked his lips.

"Look," he breathed out, his voice sounded miserable as he gazed at me; we didn't have that twin telepathy thing, but, he was my brother…and I knew when something was wrong. Just by looking at his eyes I could tell that something was just that. "Zoë, I need to tell you-"His confession was cut short as Jacob's voice filled the room, cutting the tension with his more than annoyed voice. Jason and I both turned our heads to look at the teen as he stood there, his hair messy and greasy, and agitated look on his face.

"Didn't any of you hear the phone?" he spat, holding out in front of him. I knitted my brows tighter and shrugged slightly, it was true, Jason and I must have been so into the argument was about to transfix the both of us that we didn't hear it ring. "Jay, it's for you." He trusted the phone out towards the older male, shaking it as Jason looked back at me. So many emotions ran though his eyes at that moment; fear, guilt, sadness, contemplation…I didn't know what was wrong with him. Jacob sighed heavily and shut the door as Jason grabbed the phone from him, sighing.

"Hello?" he asked, placing the phone to his ear. I couldn't hear the other voice on the end of the phone, but, by the way he answered them, they had to be important. "Yes sir." "No, sir." "I'm in the vicinity, sir." "Yes, sir, forty minutes." "Okay, bye, sir." He clicked the phone off, his eyes starring at the ground. I shook my head, eyes moving about the room as I took a few steps towards him. "Zoë, I need your car."

**Makeshift base- 12:30 pm Wrens, GA. **

Jason parked Zoë's car in the designated area, several soldiers ran past him though the dry grass, guns holstered to their sides, dressed in their full assault gear. Sanderson hadn't explained to him what was going on when he called his home, fact; he was only one that knew he was there. Jason looked up and covered his eyes as a few helicopters flew over head, aiming for the other field, and ready to land. Jason fell in with the rest of the group, holding his ID up as they neared the olive green tent that was set up near an array of tanks and other military issued Jeeps that were used only in emergencies. Sanderson was already at the opening of the tent; his hair cut short, face wreathed and worried. "Good to see ya, son." He man greeted him; Jason gave him a solute and stood at attention. Sanderson did the same, respecting the young man. "How ya' holdin' up?" he asked quickly as Jason followed him through the tent. Several communications specialists sprinted around the room, passing out papers and files. On the other side the General was giving orders to the rest of the soldiers. Jason knew something was wrong, he'd never seen anything like this.

"I'm doing just fine, sir." He answered, his voice barely making it above the noise of the other shouting soldiers as it mixed in with the helicopters that were continuing to land in the nearby field.

"Glad to hear that son." He turned and looked at me for a moment, keeping his voice low, his eyes flicked to the others for a moment before he continued. "How's your family, Jace? They doin' alright? How'd they take it?" Jason bit the inside of his cheek, a sickening feeling rising in his stomach. He shook his head at the man's question, feeling as if he was going to spill the contents of his stomach out at a moments notice.

"I- I didn't tell them, sir." He answered, "I just- I just couldn't." he looked down at the ground, ashamed that he couldn't be honest with his own family, let alone the man that it possible for him to still be alive, the man that made it possible for him to see his family. Sanderson placed a hand on Jason's shoulder and sighed, nodding understandably.

"It's alright son…but," he paused for a moment, "We've got a bigger problem on our hands. I want you to come and take a look at this." An uneasy feeling washed over Jason as he followed the older man towards the many monitors that were scattered around in the tent. "Now, we don't know what the fuck this thing is, alright, I wanna make that clear." He explained, Jason stopped at a few monitors that other soldiers were positioned around. He'd never seen people so pale in his whole life, some of the even more seasoned veterans that had joined the group looked as if they were about to throw up. "Take a look at that son." Jason watched the monitor, seeing that it was live feed from a camera that was positioned on the helmet of a solider that was currently in the field; he'd done something along those lines during his training.

"_Fuck." _ The solider mumbled on the screen, _"Shit."_ he breathed out again. You could see the barrel of the gun pointed at a silhouette as it moved in the darkness; its movements were slow and sluggish as it walked towards the solider, a groan emitting from its mouth. _"Hey, stop."_ The soldier ordered, _"Don't you come any closer. Ma'am, you need to stop!"_ Nothing was stopping as the woman came into view, a few of the surrounding soldiers turned away at the ghastly sight. Her tongue was hanging limply from her mouth, holding on by just a thread of skin. One of her eyes had fallen out of her head already, dangling from its socket, and a good portion of her neck had been severed, meat staining the white shirt that she was wearing. _"Oh god. That's gross, so fucking gross."_ The woman continued on her advanced towards the solider, hands accompanied by missing fingers stretched towards the solider again, gripping at him; a shriek emitted from her mouth as the solider fired upon her, blasting the brains from the confides of the skull, his heavy breathing filled the monitor. _"Oh shit, oh shit. Holy shit-"_ The rest of the soldiers turned away from the scene as the man turned around, not having enough time to unload a round into the sickly looking person before they latched onto his neck. His screams filled the monitor for a good two minutes before it went blank, the screen going fuzzy and gray. Sanders looked at Jason and sighed, these men had already fought a war in a country that they were unfamiliar with, the last thing he wanted to do was wage war on their own turf.

"Trenton, Dalton, and Blue Ridge have already been compromised." He informed him, punching a few keys in on the computer to show that those towns were outlined in red, showing that all or no life had been found. Jason knitted his brows together; he didn't understand was going on, or what was happening to the people. I mean, those things looked like the creatures from one of Jacob's video games. He shook the thought away. "We've already got several blockades in the towns surround the area, no ones getting in or out of here." Jason looked at him for a moment, stunned.

"What do you mean, sir?" he asked, his voice low, not wanting to sound rude. Sanderson looked at him and ran a hand though the little hair that he had left atop his head, his blue eyes shining with regret. The roar of the helicopters could be heard as they took off, a few engines roared to life as they headed out in different directions.

"Total containment." He said shortly.

"Of what?" Jason pressed voice eager and breaking.

"The whole state of Georgia," Sanderson sighed, "Until we found out what's happening, no ones getting in or out of here." Jason continued to stare at the man as he was swamped with soldiers, each of them wearing panicked expressions on their faces, he heard a few of the towns names being tossed around; they were either compromised or incidences had been reported there. Total containment; he knew exactly what he meant by this, sure, no one was getting in out of Georgia for a while, but it meant something more. Innocent people were going to be killed in the wake of the governments and military's decision to use this course of action, and he'd be damned if he was letting his family join that millions of people that would be littering the streets, bleeding out why the military said it was a precaution. Glancing down at the makeshift desk, he scooped the radio up in his hand moving swiftly towards the exit of the tent, grabbing a duffle bag full of supplies in the process.

**Warrenton General Hospital- 1:00 pm. Warrenton, GA. **

Shit went from bad to worse. Catherine rushed around the wing she was stationed to, trying hard to ignore the screams that tore though the ward. She dodged the several pools of blood that were outside of the door she was just walking into; one of the patients had attacked the officer that was taking their case. A huge piece of his neck was sitting on a pan of ice, nurses weren't allowed to do any operation on patients, and the doctor never made it from his house. The man gurgled slightly as more blood continued to pour from the wound, several nurses stood around him, each pressing gauze and any other pieces of cloth they could get their hands on in order to stop the breathing.

"Catherine! Room 304 needs someone now!" a nurse screamed as she poked her head into the door. Catherine ripped the bloody gloves from her hands and rushed from the room, running down the corridor to the room that a very pregnant Mrs. O'Riley was occupying. She passed a few more nurses, male and female alike as they tried to keep a patient from getting from the bed, one of the officers had his gun trained on him as the man struggled against the bonds that were strapping him down. His eyes bloodshot and a slew of animalistic growls rising from his throat.

"This guy was dead when I came in here four minutes ago!" the female nurse cried in fear.

Catherine finally made it to the pregnant woman's room; another nurse was already in there, holding a sponge to Miranda's head. Her labor breathing was the only sign that she was still alive; she looked deathly. Sweat poured from her face, and her eyes were closed. She closed the door as she noticed two other people standing in the room; a man a little girl, she could only guess that it was her husband and daughter. The man's eyes were bloodshot as well, but, not from a sickness from grieve. He held onto his daughter as he cried. Catherine briskly walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him.

"How are they?" she asked the other nurse quietly as she pulled a small pen flashlight from her pocket, leaning over the woman she opened each of her eyes, almost gasping at how red they were, it was almost as if all of her vessels had popped all at once. The other nursed sighed out heavily, shaking her head. "The baby to?" she asked, heart breaking as the nurse nodded again. Catherine closed her eyes for a moment; a gun shot from outside of the room broke her attention. Everything seemed to be happening all at once, the little girl screamed, her dad holding onto her tighter as another shot rang though the hospital; both of the nurses flinched, the shots were so loud that neither of them noticed that the heart monitor was beeping erratically.

"What's going on?" Miranda's husband cried, tears falling from his eyes. His daughter covered her ears with her hands and looked around, nose red and sniffling; this isn't how a little girl deserves to spend her seventh birthday. Catherine shook her head, curls bobbing about atop her head as she pushed a liquid though the Ivs trying to stabilize the dying woman, before anything else could be done, the line went flat, the beeping a constant long pitch. "What's-what's happening?" Mr. O'Riley cried, cradling his daughter to his chest.

"We lost her." The other nurse informed him, "I'm so sorry, Mr. O'Riley." Catherine had never seen a man break down like he had; he tumbled to the ground, falling to his knees as he set his daughter on the cold floor, sobbing. She had to suppress her own tears by that time, that's the first thing she learned when she became a nurse; show compassion…but not too much. Both nurses stayed behind for a few more minutes, grieving with the little girl and her father. Everything changed then; a sharp inhale caught their attention. The man was the first to look up, face red and tear stained as he watched the previously _dead _body open its eyes; Catherine's eyes widened as she began to tremble, this can't be possible, she thought, but, alas, there it was. Miranda sat up, stretching her warms out in front of her, reaching for anything and everything, her eyes were glazed over and still quite red, a moan escaped her lips. Catherine's eyes adverted to the heart monitor.

"Claudia," she said slowly, referring to the other nurse, she swallowed hard before continuing, her mouth becoming dry. "Did you turn the monitor off?" the thin green line and the high pitched beep continued to show on the monitor.

"Uh-uh" she breathed out, shaking her head, eyes wide as she watched the woman in the bed.

**Portman Residence- 1:15 pm, Augusta, GA. Zoë's Pov**

I still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that was stuck in the pit of my stomach. My boots crushed the dirt and rock that covered the trail as I walked towards the stables; mom had left a list of things that needed to be done, and she expected them to be done promptly and in order. I squinted my eyes from the shining rays of the sun as I continued on the rocky path, a few times I lost my footing on the small stones and grains of the sand, but, I caught myself quickly. As I began to near the barn I looked up the hill that led back to the house, wondering if Jason was back or not. My nose crinkled as a bead of sweat traveled down my neck, falling down into the flowered shirt that I had put on this morning, not realizing how hot it was for such a dark color to be worn. My mind went back to this afternoon, Jason left in a hurry, in my car of course, I could hear the tires squeal as he sped out of the driveway; it still wasn't clear to me who had called him, I could only suspect it was the army. I'd just hound him about it when he got home. I carefully unhinged the gate, kicking up sand as I walked into the pasture; I clicked my tongue on the roof of my mouth as I observed it, we really needed rain…and fast. If we didn't get any soon my mom would have to board them up near Atlanta like they had to a few years ago when that terrible drought came through.

I closed the gate behind me, promptly locking it back up before I began to walk towards the giant barn like structure that was on the other side of the gate, I was thankful that it was placed in the shade, but when I entered the small passage that held both of the stalls, and a few extras I was greeted by the smell of horse manure as it baked in the immense heat, it was accompanied by another smell, though, I couldn't identify that one; it smelled like metal or iron, I just couldn't place it. I jumped as Jenkins kicked the stall door, his neigh piercing the air; his hoof scrapped against the ground as he lowered and rose his head in a jerking manner, almost as if he was trying to tell me something. "Aw. Jenkins what's the matter boy." I cooed, standing up on the edge of the stall door so I could look over it. He had a crazed look in his eye as he walked in circles in the small sawdust filled room; it was almost like something was scaring him, something that I couldn't or just didn't see. I knitted my brows together, concerned. He neighed again, scraping his hooves against the floor; there was an unusual amount of sawdust covering one particular part of his stall, closest to the hay rack. My eyes traveled from the pile of saw dust, tracing the outline of Jenkins' legs, even though this light wasn't the best, I could still clearly see the trail of blood that was trickling down his hock. "Oh my god." I whispered, immediately reaching in to unlatch the lock on the stall door. It all happened so fast, I barely even knew what hit me. Jenkins rushed at the stall door just as I pulled my hand out from the stall; the force of his chest hitting the door swung it open, projecting me from the door that I was still hanging on. Luckily, there was a bag of feed positioned in the spot where I landed, my arm twisting in a weird position as my body hit the bag with a thump. Jenkins' hooves clopped against the ground as he galloped away, the hoof beats getting lighter and lighter as they drifted away. If this horse escaped my mother would kill me, especially with him being injured. Picking my self up off the ground I took off after the startled creature, the dust he kicked up still swirling in the air.

"Jenkins!" I yelled, my arms pumping back and forth as I ran after the Morgan, the heat already taking its toll on me. The horse continued to gallop towards the other end of the pasture, limping on the back hock severely. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath before getting into a running position again, meaning to peruse the animal. The sound of something wet and sticking ripping caught my attention. I stopped and listened for a second more; more sounds became apparent to me, even thought I was surprised I could hear it over my labored and tired breathing. A labored and weak neigh omitted into the air, almost like it was struggling against something or someone, I rounded the corner slowly; my brows knitted together as the metallic sent wafted up my nose. A strangled gasp build up in my throat as my jaw dropped…

**Warrenton General Hospital- 1:45pm. Warrenton, GA. **

"God Damn!" Catherine yelled as she sprinted from the room. It was as if she was in a scene from a horror film; blood and bullet cases littered the floor around her, moans and screams echoed off the blood stained walls. Co-workers and patients alike ran around the ward, actually, the whole hospital now, in a panic. A few dead lay on the floors, some gripping their wounds as they bled out before her; medical school didn't prepare her for this, this-this was something they've never seen before. She covered her ears as gunfire echoed through out the room, tears sprang to her eyes as she glanced around at the figures that were tearing at her scrubs; some pleading for them to help her, others pleading for her to save their families and their children, and then there were some that looked at her through glazed and dead eyes, their mouths opened and covered with blood of their last victim. As much as it pained her to breakaway from them and ignore their pleas, knowing full well that she had been trained to help people, she needed to know something. She needed to know that her own family was safe, and if not, she needed them to get the hell out of the city…because she knew there was no way she was making it out of this building alive.

Ducking as she saw the military personal infiltrating the ward she crawled her way over to the desk; screaming as a few of those things clawed at her, one of them managed to rip a shoe from her foot, but that was all. She climbed over the front of the desk, falling onto the marble flooring before she hunched over, the lights flickered above her. Her hands trembled as she picked up the white phone, ducking behind the desk again as a few military personal entered the ward; gas marks covered their faces, and their machine guns rocked the building as they fired. Holding the phone to her chest, she prayed that communication hadn't been shut off; she ducked again before placing the phone to her ear, a tear of joy rolled down her cheek at the sound of the dial tone. There were two calls she had to make, one to her children, and the other to her husband. Feeling the salty tears on her lips as the chaos continued to rage on behind her she sighed, trying to keep her breathing under control. She didn't know if this was the last time she would hear her children's voice; so many of her memories of them rushed though her mind all at once, infecting her subconscious one at a time. Her trembling fingers dialed the number frantically; she looked around the bullet ridden room, ducking down even more as more tore into the wall that was behind her. The other line rang, the shrill sound filling her ears…

**Portman Residence- 1:55 pm, Augusta, GA. **

The creature on the screen groaned loudly as the cyber bullet of the first person shooter's gun embedded itself in its brain, blasting it to fragments of gore and bone. It stumbled forward again, his arms wrapping around the game character. Jacob wore a fierce look in his eyes as he pressed the correct buttons on the gaming controller; the character pulled out a switch blade and proceeded in slitting the creature's throat. Jacob smirked at he beaten opponent, his hand grouping around next to him for the opened can of orange soda before he downed it quickly. He promptly dropped the now empty can onto the floor as another slew of the undead inhabited the screen; the character once again pulled the gun from his holster, and fired away. Jacob was both surprised and aggravated to find that the shrill singing of the phone could still be heard over the blasts; usually Jacob would have answered quickly, paused his game and proceeded in getting the conversation over with, but, he was so engrossed in this level that was almost impossible to get to her ignored the signing, shouting for Jason or Zoë to get the phone. Not aware that both of them were out of reach at the moment. "Jesus H. Chris! Can somebody please answer the phone!?" he hollered again, his fingers tapping away; the groans of the undead fading into oblivion as their heads popped off their bodies. Still, the singing continued…and he never moved, didn't even flinch as he shrugged, suspecting it was a telemarketer anyway.

**Warrenton General Hospital- 1:55pm. Warrenton, GA. **

"Oh god," Catherine sniffled again, sweat and tears mixing together as she crouched behind the desk, holding the phone close to her ear and mouth. "Please pick up the phone pick up the phone." She whispered over and over again; the military had gone rouge. Breaking down doors of patients and killing ones that weren't even like the others. She tried to block out the sounds of screaming children and adults as they were gunned down, glass littered the floor around her. The dead nurse that had so professionally run the desk all day during that hectic time, keeping everything in order lay dead at Catherine's feet; a slew of bullet holes riddled her body…not a bite mark in sight. She was simply killed because she was in the way, because they were afraid and didn't know how this sickness was distributed to one another. _"Hi, you've reached the Portman residence. Sorry we couldn't make it to the phone right now, but, if you leave your name and number we'll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!"_ Her own pesky, perky voice on the voicemail machine rattled another fresh wave of tears from her eyes.

"Zoë? Jacob? Jason?" she sobbed into the phone, trying to leave them a message that they would understand, but, controlling her emotions at this pint were futile. "God," she sobbed again, "I-I don't know what's happening. Don't-Don't worry about me, okay guys?" her heart broke as she spoke, "You-You- get yourselves outta' here, you understand me? Get outta Georgia, okay?" she sobbed again, wondering if they were outback playing football together, or down at the stables playing in the little water that horses had been left with this morning. She didn't want to focus on the negative things that could have happened to them. "I love you all so much, you know that right? I love-"she stopped short as a searing pain ripped though her, literally. Her body hit the floor instantly, blood pooling around her as the red liquid seeped form her abdomen; she was paralyzed, her mind dead and blank, but her eyes still open as she looked into the eyes of the rest of the dead that littered the floor. She joined them sooner than she had wanted to; and behind her stood and man, gas mask covering his nose and mouth, steam still rising from the gun.

**Portman Residence- 2:00 pm, Augusta, GA. **

My hand immediately flew to my mouth as I watched the scene unfolding before me; a person was hunched over Bundy, his dappled grey skin covered with his own blood as the being preyed on him, ripping his tendons from the horse's neck, it snapped like an elastic band as it broke free from his skin. I could feel my stomach turn in knots as the man devoured the flesh, blood staining his hands as he dug in once more. I continued to feel physically ill, unable to turn my gaze away from the scene; I began to back away slowly, knowing that the phone in the stables didn't work; I'd have to make a run for it towards the house. I closed my eyes as my boot cracked a rock in half, the sounds of the feasting stopped abruptly, and I reopened my eyes. The man was looking at me now, mouth hanging open as blood dribbled down his chin, meat stuck between his teeth. I could feel my blood run cold as he stumbled from his spot on the ground, feet dragging him towards where I stood; paralyzed, unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to think. It was like I was a statue. A familiar moan erupted from the man's lips as he stumbled towards me again, one of his feet were broken and twisted around in an odd angle. I backed away as he got closer, tripping on the very rock that me my existence known. I couldn't find the strength to get up, my legs feeling like jelly as I backed away, my hands propelling me across the sand, my boots kicking up sand as I continued to stumble away. My throat felt as if it was going to close any second as the man stumbled closer; the gate was too far away, I would never make it. Glancing behind me I noticed that I had just enough space to fit though the barbed wire that served as the fence. I promptly flipped my self onto my stomach, hart pounding in my chest as I propelled myself under the wired fence; I didn't even realize that several of the barbed pieces had penetrated my skin until I stood up on the other side, only glancing back once before my legs kicked into gear.

I couldn't get the sight out of my head as I raced towards the house; I hadn't stopped since I left the stable, hell, that person-thing-whatever it was could have been following me the whole time. I pushed though the back door, panting as I locked it quickly. The house was oddly silent; the television wasn't on, the lights were all off, the silence was killing me. "Jacob!" I screeched, rushing towards the flight of stairs. "Jacob!" My heart pounded against my chest, sweat pouring over my face as I frantically searched for my younger brother. I should have known, his bedroom door was half opened, and groans filled the room almost like the one…My eyes widened and I flung the door open, my breathes coming in short rasps as I bolted into the room; relief washed over me as I realized that Jacob was okay.

"Zoë?" he asked, turning the face me; this was the first time in a very long while that I had seen genuine concern in his features. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." I glanced behind him at the television screen; he had paused his video game. The undead being on the screen was hunched over its victim, tearing at the delicate skin. I starred at the screen, my mouth falling open. It couldn't be… "Zoë?" he asked again, I slowly looked over at him swallowing hard as my labored breathing became even more evident.

"Bundy-he-he was-"I stammered over my words. The sound of the front door slamming gained my attention, it was too forceful and rushed to have been the same person that I encountered down at the barn just a few minutes ago.

"Jacob! Zoë!" Jason's voice screamed, his heavy footsteps pounding against the steps as his boots clopped against them. I ran towards the door, meeting him in the entrance. He was sweating just as bad as I was his eyes crazed and afraid as he starred down at me.

"What's-what's wrong?" I stumbled over my words. Jacob had joined us now, I turned and glanced at him; I'd never seen him this afraid before, even though he didn't show it by his actions…those deep brown eyes said it all.

"We've gotta get outta' here. Now."

**A/N: A lot of stuff happened in this chapter! I hope you all liked it, and I really hope you could understand all of the different point of views; they were all supposed to coincide with each other. **


	4. Thankful for Everything

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead is (sadly) not mine. However, I do own the Portman family.**

"_Be Thankful For Everything, For Soon There Will Be Nothing..."-_ 28 Days Later

**Portman**** Residence 2:15 pm. ****Augusta****, GA **

The look on Jason's face was pure terror; sweat beaded the top along the subtle creases of his forehead, dribbling down his neck, his eyes were wide, starring at the two of us. Neither one of us spoke or moved a muscle, frozen with fear of the unknown. I continued to stare at him, hands shaking down by my sides. The only sound in the room was the shallow breaths that each of us took. "What do you mean?" Jacob suddenly asked, "This isn't fucking funny, Jason. What's wrong?" Before Jason could even answer the question the Jacob had asked my lips were already moving, almost as if they had a mind of their own. "What do you mean we have to leave, Jason? What's going on?" "Jason tell us what the hell is wrong? What the fuck is happening?" "Why do we have to leave? What-what-"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Jason screamed. Jacob and I hadn't let him get a word in otherwise, both of us throwing questions at him left and right; the two voices burring together to form one giant mass of screaming words, all jumbled together, too hard to decipher. His eyes were wide with fear and a hint of rage as he starred at the two us, his own arms shaking slightly. Jacob and I were suddenly silent, I'd never seen Jason loose his tempter like this, and I'd never seen Jacob this submissive. His chest rose and fell with each breath he took a he stood before us; his height towering both of us. "Alright," he finally said, pacing in a small circle for a moment, "We've jus-we've just gotta get out of here, alright? I don-"he continued to trip over his words, my mind raced. I had begun to wonder if had something to do with what I had run into down at the stable, maybe a maniac on the loose? He began to move about the room, not really pacing, but, almost as if he was looking for something. I looked over my shoulder as Jacob watched him too, running a hand though his dirty brown hair. I followed Jason with my eyes, trying to find something to say to him; maybe I should start with what happened. I opened my mouth, but the sound that was heard wasn't a voice…but a siren. I stood frozen with fear as I listened to it sound again, Jason suddenly stopped pacing.

"Is that-"I whispered, just loud enough for myself to hear, completely immune to the sound that I had only heard during warning of some type. It was loud and shrill; I would be surprised if the other two didn't hear it. "Jason," my voice shook as his eyes grew in size, diverting towards the window. "That's-that's an air-"

"We gotta move." He suddenly said, his boots clomping against the ground as he flung the closet open, much to Jacob's shouts of protest. I stood there, unable to move as panic overtook my senses; my heart beat against my chest, palms sweating, and bones locking in place, stiff as stone. I could faintly feel my hand rise to cover my mouth in fear as a whimper arose in my throat. The sound of the air-raid siren continued in the background. Jason began to dig though the lump of garments that lay in a heap on the bottom of Jacob's closet; I didn't understand what he was looking for.

"Jay, come on, man! What the hell are you doing?" the preteen asked, fear evident in his voice. Jacob wasn't one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, unless he was pissed off, then he wanted you to know. I could tell my way the syllables quivered that he was just as scared as I was. Jason suddenly turned around, tossing a green duffel bag in his direction, and grabbing several other things from the dark depths.

"We don't have much time." He informed us as passed the backpack to me, it was as if I was moving in slow motion; my hand left my mouth, visible tears brimming my eyes as as I took the black fabric into my hands, shivering. "Zoë, clothes. Jacob," he turned towards Jacob, who was still holding the small duffel bag in his hands, curelessly. "Food; no dairy, only canned goods. Got it?" It wasn't until Jason rushed from the room did the other two of us follow, realizing that this wasn't just some joke that he had decided to play on us. I ran down the hall to the laundry room, only grabbing what I could; a few shirts, socks, and I can't even remember what else I threw in there. I could hear Jason's heavy boots beating against the floor as I passed by the bathroom, the sound of pill bottles being tossed around filled the usually silent room as he knocked over the contents of the shelf in a panic. Try and as I might, I couldn't wrap my head around what was happening. I rushed down the steps, ignoring the faces of the smiling family photos as I heard rummaging in the kitchen. My feet pounded against the floor as I ran towards the room, flinging the backpack over my shoulder as I noticed Jacob shoving things into the duffel.

"Zoë, what's going on?" he asked. I shook my head, having no answer for him. The siren continued to wail in the distance, penetrating the walls that surrounded us, keeping us safe from whatever was out there. Something was wrong; Bundy. I closed my eyes, pushing the bile back down into the pit of my stomach as it began to rise in my throat. That man was eating him, tearing the flesh right from the bone like a wild animal, like a wolf…I'd never seen a human being do that ever. "Zoë?" Jacob's voice frantically asked again. It was new and unsettling to see Jacob this frightened, usually he could take whatever you threw at him, no questions asked; why did that man look so much like…I shoved the thought away again. There video games, Zoë. I reminded myself.

"Jacob, I- I don't know." I answered, voice shaking at it rose above its normal octave. I could still hear Jason mulling around upstairs, the sounds of windows closing echoed down the steps, reverberating off the walls and filling our ears. My eyes scanned the room, wondering. I could hear the last few items fall into Jacob's duffel before the green bag zipped. My eyes scanned the desk that was near the small china cabinet, copies of Jason and I's graduation pictures sat on either side of the phone…Jacob was noticeably absent; it was probably because he hadn't graduated yet. My eye caught the constant blinking of the red-light on the answering machine catching my attention immediately; my heart fell into my stomach. Someone called, the government, mom, dad? Who ever it was maybe they had some answers… I moved closer to the phone, my hand quick snatching it from its resting place on the charger, my fingers frantically pressing at the buttons, shaking. My brow knitted in pure fury as I looked at the missed call list; Mom's cell. 1:55 pm. Stupid…My mind didn't have time to finish verbally abusing my little brother before I rounded on him, clutching the phone in my fist as I screeched.

"Did you answer the phone?" I demanded, cocking my head to the side. I could tell when Jacob was lying and when he wasn't, but, it was hard to tell now due to the fact that he was already scared shit-less; his facial expression never changed, his lips parted in a 'what' expression, eyes emotionless.

"What?" he retorted, voice shaking. I knitted my brows together; something about this facial expression was different. I swear he had gone two shades lighter than his normal skin color, his eyes dancing about the room as he tried to avoid my gaze.

"The phone," I asked again, shaking the object in front of his face. He smacked it out of the way, annoyed. "Jacob, did you answer it?" I repeated, my voice raising above it's normal level. I was slowly loosing my cool, and it wasn't just because Jacob was being that arrogant little asshole that he tended to be, that air raid siren was getting louder…and another unfamiliar sound was beginning to mix with the blaring. His eyes narrowed as he glared at me, curly black hair falling into his eyes that were filled with rage.

"No-no. I didn't even hear it ring." He protested, running a hand though his hair. I pressed the button on the phone to show him the missed call list, lips pushing in a straight line. "Shit." he mumbled, bottom lip trembling as he began to pace in a circle. He looked like he was guilty about something, seeing mom's number on the missed call list.  
"It was mom." I informed him, even though he probably already knew that's who it was. "Why didn't you answer it?" I argued again, he shoved the phone away from his face again, smacking my hand way from him. Jacob and I never got physical with each other unless we were play fighting, you know, friendly wrestling. I couldn't keep the look of pure hatred off my features at that moment thought; if something didn't happen quick this was about to turn into a sibling scuffle real soon.

"What the hell do you want me to do?" he argued with me, his voice laced with vile undertones, eyes looking like giant black orbs as he glared at me, his cheeks burning hot with rage. "I didn't hear the phone ring! It's not like I killed somebody!" he shouted. I opened my mouth to shout back, hands ready to throw his skinny body across the room; Jacob was the laziest human being I had ever seen in my life, I didn't believe that he didn't hear the phone ring for one second, he was probably too preoccupied with this stupid video games.

"Just-whatever! Whatever!" I screamed at him, my own face heating with anger. He balled his fists up, trying to act all hard and mighty; this kid wouldn't even be able to hurt a fly out in the real world. I held my hand up as he opened his mouth to let another slew of violent words stream from his mouth, silencing him quickly. He groaned in annoyance and grossed his arms over his chest, mumbling about how big of a bitch I was, and how he wished I would go back to Maryland. I rolled my eyes and quickly dialed the number that was on the call missed log, biting my bottom lip as I held the piece of equipment to my ear, my hand falling to rest on my hip. The sudden screeching filled the phone, you know, the one that pierces your ear drums when it signals that your call can't be connected. "We're sorry but the number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please check the number or hang up and try again. Thank you." The operator repeated in a monotone voice; my heart pounded against my chest…mom never had her phone off, no matter what the regulations were at her job, she always kept it on her for safety reasons. "Shit." I mumbled, fear rising in me like mercury in a thermometer on a summer day, much like the one today. I could hear Jacob sigh out heavily.

"What? What is it Zoë? Did you reach-"his voice was frantic. I waved him off with the flick of my wrist as I dialed the number again, but, the attempt was futile; the same monotone voice filled my ears, the same screech piercing my eardrum. "Christ," I breathed out, voice shaking as I pressed the end button on the phone. I ran a hand thought my hair nervously, my eyes wide as I turned to Jacob. "I-I can't reach her. I can't- can't reach her." I panicked; the siren was growing louder by the minute, not to mention the screams that had erupted outside of the door.  
"What?" Jacob asked his voice suddenly just as panicked as mine was. "What-What do you mean you can't reach her, Zoë? She always has her phone on, you know that. Why can't-"

"Jacob I don't know!" I screeched at him, his jaw immediately locking in place. My chest heaved up and down, feeling as if a boulder had been placed right on it. Jacob continued to stare at me, trying to find something to come back at me with. Before either of us could get another word in Jason's frantic footsteps were already descending down the steps, following by his equally distressed voice.

"Zoë! Jacob!" he shouted several times, his feet finally carrying him into the kitchen area where the two of us stood, our starring match continuing. "What in the hell are you two doing?" he gaped at our lack or readying. I'd never seen Jason this terrified before, I mean, he'd also been one to hold his ground and control is emotions. Both Jacob and I turned to glance at our brother. "Come on guys-"Jason's voice suddenly trailed off until he was stock still, mouth hanging open slightly. We didn't even have time to inquire what had gone wrong before the glass began to rattle, the sound of the whirling reverberating off the walls, seeming to shake the whole structure that was around us; from what I could tell, remembering when I'd visited the Air Force base in Southern Maryland, it was a helicopter of some sort. "We have to go. Now." He ordered, his fingers closing around my wrist as his boots scuffed against the perfectly buffed floor as we fled towards the garage door that was stationed at the other end of the kitchen, the sound of the chopper getting louder by the second. Jacob was behind us, lugging the duffel bag full of canned goods behind him. Jason's hand fumbled with the lock on the garage door as he frantically tore at the faux golden door knob that was currently his biggest enemy; the sound of the helicopters whirling overhead grew louder and louder with every passing moment. It was only a moment later that the door caved in, each of us filing into the garage. The sound of the chaos outside the house an amplified by at least a thousand; the whirling of the chopper, the blare of the sirens, the screams…the screams. That was new.

"Jason what's going on?" I asked frantically, practically pulling my hair out as I watched him pace the small garage, his head held in his hands. If he said that we needed to get out of here one more time…

"I-I don't know, Zoë. I don't know." He panicked, stopping as his eyes wandered about the room. Several horrifying sounds could be heard outside of the garage, almost like nails scratching down a chalkboard; the three of us looked in the direction of the garage doors that, thankfully, only opened using a remote control. The scratching continued, accompanied by low groans. My chest rose and fell slowly, neither of us moving as we listened to the ghastly sounds; this wasn't normal. Nothing about this situation was, absolutely nothing…For some reason the sounds coming from outside were quite familiar; their growls and moans reaching my ears just as the sound of another helicopter did. Jason frantically rushed around the garage, pulling things off the shelves, not even bothering to pick them up as they crashed to the ground, some of the more fragile ones breaking into a thousand tiny pieces; I jumped out of the way as a class full of old fuel fell at my feet, the foul smelling liquid splashing into my stable boots and jeans. I didn't know what in the hell he was looking for, but, each sound that rang from outside made him move even faster. My own eyes began to wander about the room, remembering every tiny detail that was in the garage; each crack in the ceiling and floor, every old dusty tool that was put out of place, the rags that lay in a heap of foul smelling oil and gas fumes…The jingle of keys caught my attention, forcing my attention on the real problem. Jason stood at the front of the Mustang, his reflection dancing off the hood of the car a he glanced at Jacob and I; my brows knitted together as I realized what he was doing…

"Jason, dad'll kill us."  
**  
Makeshift base- 2:20 pm Wrens, GA.**

"Sir!" Col. Sanderson ignored the shouts that were coming from the other soldiers; the base was a mess, absolutely chaotic compared to what it had been just a few hours ago. It was only recently that they rest of the fortified makeshift areas had been over run, the one in Trenton had been demolished in a matter of seconds. The screams of the soldiers still echoed in his mind as he replayed the radio signal that they had gotten from them, just the thought of men that he had trained, dying in that was was daunting…and quite eye-opening to just how serious and real this situation really was. It wasn't just a few people that were turning out to be these sort of creatures with a hankering for human flesh…it was no several hundred, probably even more. "Sir!" Sanderson's blue eyes never looked up from the files of papers that that were scattered about the wooden table that was acting as a desk, they were the identities of the dead, the wounded….and the undead. "Sir! We've got a big problem!" the cadet screamed again, Sanderson finally looked up, hearing the pure terror in the young man's voice; he was started when he looked up, the boy was wounded, a long gash ran from the left side of his face all the way to the right side of his jaw. Blood smeared all over his cheeks, and just by looking at the boy Sanderson was pretty sure that he was going to loose that eye, it was only a matter of time.

"My god, Son, what happened to you?" he asked worry laced in his voice as he tried to coax the young solider to sit down in the fold up metal chair that had been giving Sanderson the worst back paints that he'd ever experienced. The young solider didn't answer, instead he sat down in the chair, leaning his head back as he tried to catch his breath, squinting as the blood made it's way into his good eye.

"Sir," the kid breathed out, unbuttoning the top layer of his uniform; his body was on fire, wheter it was from the shock and awe of the whole ordeal, or if it was due to the giant puffy bit mark that was on his chest, he couldn't be sure. He'd seen what had happened to the ones that got bit; he'd watched his best friend of twenty-two years change right before his eyes. He had been bitten by one of those fuckers when the barricade in Trenton was breached, he didn't think he'd ever forget about the sounds that filled his ears as he abandoned his station, crawling his way though the carnage, vowing to never leave his friend and comrade behind; ever, no matter what the circumstance. Some people call it valor, others call it stupidity…but Carlos Cortes was his best friend, he owed him that much, but, he didn't only owe it to his friend, he owed it to Carlos' wife, and his daughter…and his two unborn twins. When he saw the bite on Carlos' neck he instantly knew that there was nothing he could do for him, except pray and apply pressure, and that's what he did. All the while screaming at the top of his lungs, trying to get his octave above the gun fire as she screamed for medic; Carlos' breath began to slow as he looked down at his friend, ordering him to keep awake, reminding him that he had more to live for, _"Don't give up on me, man."_ He sobbed; he still remembered Carlos' finger nails as they dug into his skin, his mouth parting in a whisper, blood dribbled from his lips as he spoke silently… _"I love you brah, take-take care of Maria for me…please." _

He knew what he would have to do. He dragged Carlos over to an abounded hospital tent, blocking the entry way with boxes and tubs, rifle held in his hands as he held Carlos close to him. He'd known this guy since he was born, hell, they were born in the same hospital…a day apart; they were actually side by side in the nursery together, that's how they met. The nurses had accidentally switched them at birth, Carlos was handed to Steven's mother, and Steven was handed to Carlos' mother…it was all a grave misunderstanding when they realized their mistake…and that was the end of it, they were literally inseparable ever since. He was there when Carlos woke back up, his eyes hyaline. He held his face in his hands as he watched Claros' mouth open in a moaning whimper, the dead man's fingers digging into his wrists as he reached up to touch his face, scarping his fingers nails against the flesh. Steven screamed, a part of him thought Carlos was still there, maybe it would just take some tome to find him, but, he wasn't…before Steven could load his gun Carlos had already descended upon him, his teeth sinking in though the military uniform that he had worn so proudly. He struggled to put the gun against his friend's head, sobbing uncontrollably both from the physical and emotional pain… "They've-they've breached the barricades." Steven panted, Sanderson's eyes grew wide as his gaze rested on the man's heaving chest; he knew there was nothing he could do for this boy now, he would be one of them soon..

"Completely over-run!" the radio that was attached the boy's uniform hissed, the crackling noise sounding distant; whoever was on the other line was certainly terrified, but, who wouldn't be in this situation. "Sir, they're killing everyone!" The soldier's strangled screams of agony mixed in with the fizzling radio, Steven dropped his chin to his chest, a few muffled sobs echoing form his lips, spit mixed with blood dribbled from his chin and fell onto his shirt.

"I don't- I don't know what to do." He sobbed. Sanderson turned away from the scene, letting the boy have his privacy; he had to do something, anything. He knew this situation was clearly beyond their control, he scoffed inwardly, those Army Strong commercials did no justice for his group, and they were sitting ducks in this situation. They've tried everything. The cocking of a gun caught Sanderson's attention, the boy mumbling incoherently as the older gentlemen's eyes scanned over the boy; he had a pistol to his own head, tears and blood streaming down his face.

"Son," Sanderson had taken a class in negotiation during his days at the academy, you know, back when dinosaurs were alive. He approached the boy slowly, he understood what the boy was feeling, back when he served in Vietnam, he was just eighteen, partially right out of high school, and he had to talk several of his comrades out of suicide. Although, that way out had ran though his mind several times during that war, seeing all the death and carnage, watching his best friends die all around him, knowing that that could have easily been him. The boy's hand trembled as he held the tip of the gun to his temple, snot mixing in with the tears and blood; the rest of the personal in the tent had stopped what they were doing, watching as the scene unfolded. "Hey, son, it's okay, alright? Everything's gonna be okay, we're- we're gonna get you all bandaged up okay, so just, hand the gun over." He pleaded quietly, making sure not to make any sudden movements; he didn't want to startle the young man.

The boy continued to look at him, bottom lip quivering. He knew what he was doing, all this bullshit they were feeding him about being okay or him getting help was nothing but a bunch of lies; he of all people should know that. He had gotten orders from General Tennyson to neutralize any and all civilians in the quarantined areas; men, women, children…the elderly. Even if they weren't like the dead that were rising, even if they were in perfect health, they were put down in fear that they were infected and they just hadn't started showing any symptoms yet. A dry chuckle emitted from his mouth as he watched Sanderson approach him, he wasn't the only one who had taken negotiating classes… "Bullshit." He seethed, crying again. "You've seen what happens to those people that get bit they-"he stopped short as another sob wracked though his body, the barrel pressing once again into his temple. He said a silent prayer quickly. "Forgive me."

"No!" Steven's body fell limp from the chair just as Sanderson opened his mouth, the rest of the soldiers creaming and yelling in protests as the boy continued to bleed out; severed chucks of his brain and skull littered the floor as blood pooled around him. Sanderson knew this was bad. It wasn't a second later that they hazmat team flooded the room, pushing the soldiers back as they ran towards the body, saying that they needed to run tests; that's what the innocent lives of people succumbed to the virus had become…lab rats. This was the breaking point, no one, and he meant, no one was getting out of Georgia now, with the flick of his wrist he waved a few of the soldiers over, each of them greeting him with a solute that showed they still had respect for the superior, even in the midst of all this chaos…

"What are your orders sir?" the shorter one asked, it was a woman, her body frame frail, like glass, her skin as white as snow, and hair as dark as night. Sanderson nodded, resting his hand on his hip as he bit his tongue. This was the last resort…and he didn't take pride in bestowing this upon anyone.

"Neutralize the area; quarantine all compromised and uncompromised zones." He ordered his voice stoic and emotionless. He could see the woman's eyes widened at his request, everyone that had been in the military for sometime knew what that meant…and it was never good.

"Yes sir." They repeated in unison.

"Oh, and find Jason Portman. I need to speak with him." Sanderson watched with the up most curiosity as the woman raised her eyebrows, the black thin lines of hair knitted together in the middle of her face as she looked at him.

"Sir," she said carefully. "Portman departed from here just under and hour ago." Sanderson's breath caught in his throat as he continued to rub the back of his neck, his lips parting in disbelief.

"What?"  
**  
Portman Children 2:45 pm. Exiting Augusta, GA (Zoë's Pov)**

Dad's going to kill us. That was the only thing that ran though my mind as Jason stepped on the gas pedal, the engine revved. The seat belt cut into me as I gripped the arm rest of the old Mustang. Dad worked so hard on this thing, hell, all three of us had worked hard don this thing. I swear if Jason did something to ruin this car, dad would never forgive us. The car was eerily silent aside from the engine as Jason pressed down on the pedal harder, eliciting a groan from the engine and sputtering of the wheels. Jason hadn't given Jacob and me any other explanation other than that we just needed to get out of the state, and fast; every time I tried to ask about Mom and Dad he avoided the question with another statement about where we were headed. I cocked my head to the side, watching as the speedometer hit the ninety-five mark, I wasn't a very conscious driver, but, even I would never go that fast. It was odd thought, I had observed as I looked out of the window. Several of those large blinking signs that construction workers used were stationed up along the road each of them reading different things '_Evacuation Route'_ one of them read, 'Hide yo' kids hide yo' wife!' I rolled my eyes, you would have thought if this situation was really that serious that people would have enough of the mental capacity to leave their snakry comments to themselves, or at least act like they had some sense. Obviously something big was happening. I didn't have time to finish my thought before Jason turned the wheel hard to left, going to opposite way of which I had come just a few days earlier when I drove through South Carolina to get here. Jacob and I both cursed under our breath as our heads moved with the swaying the car, holding my hand up against the class to stabilize myself from hitting it. Something, yet again, wasn't right.  
"Jason," I stammered, turning around so I could look out of the back windshield of the car, the tinted glass making it hard to make out the surroundings that were flying past us, but, I could still make out the welcome sign that was on the side of the road…leaving Georgia was in a different direction..

"You're going the wrong way," I turned back around so I could face him, my eyes wide with fear, not to mention the sweat that was threatening to find its way into my already tired eyes. "South Carolina is that way…"

"We're not going to South Carolina." He replied calmly, I could see it was a façade he was putting up, him being the oldest out of the three of us he was trying to keep reassurance in the small group, keeping the stability, god only knew how long that would actually last. "Besides, the Georgia/Carolina border was sealed off an hour ago, there's no way we can get out that way." I sat back in my seat again, my hands running down my face as I bit at my finger nails, terrified; my limbs shook as Jason took several sharp turns, making my gut wrench, almost like a roller coaster.

"God, what is going on?" I asked no one in particular. Jacob was surprisingly quiet, and it was much to my dismay. That meant something was wrong, god, I remember when my mom used to joke about that day. _"It'll be the end of the world when Jacob stops running his mouth…"_ Mom and Dad…I hadn't heard from either of them, I knew the turn that led to Warrenton was coming up soon. "Hey, Jay, you need to turn up here." I informed him, sitting up right in my seat as I watched the sign come into view, 'Warrenton, GA. Exit on Right.' Mom and dad were probably together right now, as soon as he saw things getting bad he probably left the bank and rushed right over to her side, that's just how close they were. The turn was coming up, and I was growing more anxious by the minute, he sped up…passing right by the sign. "Jason!" I yelled, turning as I watched the sign fading in the distance, the yellow and white lines blurring together; He kept his eyes on the road, his jaw locked tight, his hands wrapping around the steering wheel. "Jason what are you doing! We have to get mom and dad!" I screeched, turning to face him.

"Zoë, listen to me, we don't have time." He said slowly, turning to look at me for a quick second before returning his vision back to the road. Another town was coming up, it was significantly bigger than Warrenton and Augusta, meaning that it was probably going to be packed with people, plus, that's where most people that lived in those two towns did most of the shopping since Atlanta was more than four hours away. "Okay-"

"Then make time!" I screamed, "They're our parents for Christ sake!" I screeched. I could see him tense up under my glare as my eyes spit venom into the back of this head. I was staring so intently that you'd think his head would eventually explode.

"Zoë," his voice was low and came out in a growl; almost as if he was trying to contain himself from doing something that he was about to regret. I'd never been this angry at him in my whole life, scratch that, I've never been this angry with anyone in my whole life. I just couldn't understand it, they had done everything for us when were little; clothed us, loved us, kept us safe…we should be doing the same for them. "You don't understand-"

"Then enlighten me, Jason! Please!" I yelled again, cheeks burning red. "Do you even know-"

"Because if we don't we're gonna die, Zoë!" he screeched, his face turning red as he faced me. My blood ran cold as it continued to course through my veins; my mouth quickly became dry as I looked at him with wide eyes, wondering if I had heard him right. "Is that what you wanted to hear, Zoë? Huh?" He hit his hands against the steering wheel several times in a fit of rage, face still red with anger as he kept his eyes on the road; I didn't move, instead I sat there, paralyzed as the words repeated in my head, Jacob was mumbling curse words under his breath in the back seat, clearly afraid._ Die_; that one word seemed to repeat over and over again, "Governments called for total containment of the infected areas-"

"Infected?" I found myself asking, bottom lip trembling. This is was it, they had finally gotten to us, the Middle East made it impossibly clear that they weren't fucking around when it came to America; biochemical warfare. I could feel a few tears slip from my eyes as I continued to look at Jason. "It's another terrorist attack isn't it?" I panicked, reaching for the radio so I could turn the dial, praying that something was on there about the incident.

"I don't- I don't know- I don't think-" Jason stammered, tripping over his words as he continued to drive, his foot easing up on the pedal slightly; the speedometer read close to seventy now. I suddenly felt lightheaded, fatigued, my eyes wide as I ran a hand thought my already tangled mess of hair; this was it. DC probably got hit first, then New York…god they were hitting everywhere this time…not just the important capitals or cities. I never thought I'd be alive for World War three. Suddenly, the shrill ringing of a cell phone gained my attention, with tears still brimming my eyes I looked around, all of us sharing the same exact look. I grabbed the phone first, but, it didn't come without much difficulty. It was hidden under a pile of papers that my dad had on the small space that was in between the gear shifts and the ash tray that sat open, several burned up cigarette butts and ash moved around the black try as the car swayed again. I gripped the phone tightly, pressing it to my ears as I pressed the green talk button…my dad really needed to upgrade his phone.

"_Zoë?"_ my dad's voice rang; I could hear the relief lacing his words. I closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer of thanks to the heavens before I opened my mouth, sniffling slightly as I heard the background noise that occupanied my father's already strained voice. _"Zoë? Zoë, are you there? Hello?"_

"Dad! Dad, yes I'm here!" I said quickly, nodding to Jason as he nodded his head in my direction, inquiring if our father was okay. "Jesus, we- we don't know what's wrong. Dad, are you okay- are- are you alright?"

"_Yeah, Zoë."_He replied, clearly out of breath. _"I'm fine I'm fine. Have you heard from your mother? I- I can't reach her-"_

"She called, but- but we couldn't get to the phone in time." I informed him, turning around in my seat so I could glare in Jacob's direction; he returned the stare, crossing his arms over his chest before raising his hand to flip me the bird. With the phone still pressed to my ear I smacked him in the chest…just like a brother and sister should fight. Jason hissed at the two of us to stop our fighting.

"Ask him if he can get out?"

"Dad, can you get out of the bank?" I asked, turning back around, ignoring Jacob as he kicked the back of my seat; the sounds that were drifting through the phone seemed the match the sounds that were floating around outside of the car. My voice faltered as I watched the chaotic scene that was unfolding outside of the vehicle; several fires were alight, military tanks and barricades lined the street, soldiers rounded civilians up, placing them into the bed of trucks like they were rounding up cattle…and other people walked around aimlessly, their mouths hanging open, bloodied and bodies mangled. I turned and looked at Jason, his reaction mirroring mine as he pressed on the gas pedal again, turning down a road that led though a different part of the town, and hitting several speed bumps in the process.

"_No-"the_ phone crackled, _"Zoë! Get out- Georgia- go-"the_ last thing I heard before the phone went out was the sound of muffled gun fire, and the terrified screams of the co workers. The other line beeped, like a heart monitor signaling that the patient had flat lined. I dropped the phone, listening as the sound of helicopters whirled over head, the air raid siren louder than ever as we neared the center of the town.

"Jay," I whispered, my ears picking up on the crackling sound that filled the tense air of the Mustang, the speakers sounding as if they were about to blow. I never really thought about how terrifying it would be to hear those stupid Emergency Alerts during a real emergency, they frequently did monthly or weekly tests on the television and the airwaves, just a precaution to how people would actually react to them. "I- I- lost him." A beeping filled the car, all of us silent as we looked at the radio_. "This is an alert from the Emergency Broadcast System." _The female operator explained, monotone as she spoke to the world of the impending crisis, another voice took over a moment later. _"Warning: This is not a test."_ Neither of us knew how to react to what we had just heard, another sound filled the room, one that seemed to strike fear into the hearts of us all.

"_Portman" _The man's voice was unfamiliar to me, _"Come in Portman. Return to base. Over." _ I looked in Jason's direction as he quickly grabbed the walkie that was resting on the dashboard; knitting my brows together as he placed the forest green camouflaged walkie to his lips, his voice desperate. _"Sir, target it's not responding. Over."_

"_11 Bravo what is your ETA? Over." _ The conversation between the two frequencies continued as Jason held the walkie up to his lips. I continued to stare at him, confused…what did they mean by target?

"Jay-" Jason threw up his hand to silence me, immediately returning it to the steering wheel as he took a hard right turning back onto a main stretch of road; it was becoming hard to find one that wasn't littered with abandoned vehicles or worse…dead bodies.

"_Come in, Delta. ETA is five minutes, over." _The look on Jason's face told me that something wasn't right. He held the walkie away from his mouth and starred at it, almost as if it was going to sprout arms and legs and do a tap dance for him, his eyes widening like he didn't want to miss it.

"_Copy that." _I watched as Jason fumbled with the walkie, pressing a shaking finger against the button as he pressed it, it beeped than crackled for a few seconds. Now, I knew very little military jargon, I just remembered what I'd heard watching _Saving Private Ryan_ and _Apocalypse Now_ countless times with my brother, but, I didn't need to know the language to know that something wasn't right. Especially not when your last name and the word 'target' were used in the same sentence…but why us…

"Col. Sanderson, come in, over!" Jason hastily called into the walkie. His neck stretching as he looked out of the windshield, I mirrored his movements and did the same, squinting as the sun was blotched out by a giant shadow overhead, the sheer size of it floating in the air let me know that it was some sort of aircraft. The walkie crackled, roaring to life once again.

"_Jason, what in the hell are you doing son?" _The voice on the other end demanded his voice stern. I could only guess it was someone higher in rank than Jason was, hell, it might have even been the one that Jason seemed to talk about all the time.

"Call em' off!" Jason ordered, I was taken back by his bluntness with the officer. Jason swerved several times, narrowly missing the hordes of people that were running around the town, screaming at the top of their lungs. I watched from the window as we passed by a- well- I really wasn't sure what it was, but, whatever it was it was hunched over a person, their legs kicking out from underneath of it as he tore the individuals face apart. My hand immediately went up to cover my mouth, bile rising in my throat.

"_Jason, you know we can't do that! I can't do that!" _The man explained his voice harsh once more.

"You have to, sir! Do you know how many innocent lives are suffering?" Jason argued, his eyes focusing on the chopper that loomed up ahead.

"_Jason!" _the man yelled again, this voice crackling as it reached the phone. _"Listen to me; you don't understand what you've got coming at you."_ My brother's eyes focused on the chopper that still hovered ahead of us, I could see the side of the military green aircraft open, the barrel of a gun sticking out from the side of it. My eyes widened in fear, Jacob cursed from behind me. _"This escape attempt is going to get you and your family killed! Pull over, Portman! This is your last chance."_

"If I stop," Jason fumed. I sunk down in my seat, folding my hands together as I began to sob; I never expected to die in this way…by the hands of my country's own military. You always saw this in movies, you know, the government going rogue and killing it's own civilians in hopes that it would keep whatever they were trying to hide contained; but, you never really thought of how you would react if that ever happened. "We'll be dead for sure.

"_Son, stop the vehicle!"[/i]_ the man ordered again, sounding almost like he was pleading. _"You're not thinking straight! Pull over and surrender, Jason!"_

"No, no." Jason shook his head in an argument, sweating dripping down his face. "We're not doing anything wrong! We're just trying to survive!" Jacob yelled a few things from the back seat, clearly terrified of what was transpiring, or, rather what was about to transpire. Hopefully it was quick, like a bomb…none of that slow suffering.

"_Jason,"_ the man countered again, his voice softening. _"Do you hear yourself right now? You're scared. We're- we're all scared son_." I think was the first time that this guy actually sounded sincere to me, I looked at Jason though hazy eyes, blinking the tears away quickly as I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. Dying like this, I looked out of the window to see more and more of those things chowing down on the civilians, I jumped as I watched a few of the soldiers succumb to their ripping teeth and tearing claws, by the hands of the military, seemed a hell of a lot better than dying by…mutilation. _"Just- just turn around, stop the vehicle, and get out."_

"Come on, Jay," Jacob sobbed from the back. Jason had stopped the car now, the engine coming to rest in a frozen position in the middle of the ravaged town. I turned around and watched as several of those things walked aimlessly around the car, their glazed over eyes starring at the three of us. I couldn't tear my eyes away as one of them approached my side of the vehicle. He looked normal, aside from the meat that was hanging from his bared teeth, his lips stained red with blood; but, it didn't remind me of a monster…but a curious beast. The creature's finger lazily fingered the glass that was separating us; I continued to stare into its face, my fingers slowly locking the door. I tried to lock it as quietly as possible, but, it heard the lock snap. Its head cocking the side as its fingers spread out against the glass, bending down so that it was looking me straight in the eye…like it was trying to communicate with me on some odd animalistic, primal, level. "GO! GO! JASON! GO!" Jacob screamed from the back of the car, his eyes wide as he watched the other beings, those resembling something from his video game, ascend upon the restored Mustang.

"_Son, you've got fifty-seconds." _

"_We have a visual on the target. T-Minus forty-seconds." _

"Jason," I pleased softly, by body shaking as the creature, with its mangled fingers began to beat upon the glass of the car; a groan emitting for its lips. "Please, just -just listen to him." "Jason go! Go, please!" Jacob screamed from the back, I hadn't seen him cry in years… Jason turned and looked around at the two of us, his breathes coming in labored gasps, I could see the several options forming in his eyes as he continued to look at the two of us; if we were going to die like this, I would die in the company of two of the people that I loved the most in the word than to die alone. At least if I died right now…

"_Twenty-Seconds."_

It was a game of chicken now. I watched as Jason held the walkie closer to his mouth, tears forming in his eyes as he used his other hand to put the Mustang in reverse, the gears clicking. Although the pounding of the hand son the windows hadn't disappeared, I had all but forgotten about them as I gazed up from the gear shift, catching the look in Jason's eye. "Sanderson?" he asked, placing his other foot on the gas pedal, the engine revving.

_Yeah son?" _

_Ten-seconds_, _preparing to engage target."_

"Go to hell." Jason's voice was violet as he slammed his foot on the gas pedal, the tiers sputtering against the concrete as it lurched backwards. The curious beings that had surrounded the car minutes earlier were flung backwards, some of them scratching at the windows, trying to stop us from going anywhere. "Get down!" he ordered.

"_Engaging target." _

Jacob and I didn't have to be told twice. The two of us hit leaned over in our sets, pressing our foreheads into our knees, hands coming up over to protect our heads from the bullets that were riddling the car at the moment. I couldn't stop the sobs as the car swerved several times, my eyes concentrating on the dark black floor mats that were underneath my quivering feet. "Hold on guys!" I was confused when Jason let go of the wheel of the car, letting the hunk of metal drive itself. The loud sound of tires screeching and the sound of glass breaking filled the air as the car tipped backwards, I could only guess tumbling down the embankment that we had passed just a few minutes earlier, one that led to a ditch full of dirt and trees. I held my breath as my gut twisted this way and that way, almost like when you go on one of those rides that go upside down, or the feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach when you have one of those falling dreams. I was hard to ignore the pain as the broken bits of glass cut into my skin from the windows as they shattered. The fall seemed to go on forever, no matter how much I wished it would just end as quickly as possible. I spoke too soon, the car came to a halt, surprisingly enough, it had fallen back to its original driving position, all four wheels planted firmly on the grass; the hood smoked. I groaned as I lifted my head up, immediately looking around the car to see Jacob and Jason were okay. I could hear Jason groan from beside me, the sound of his seat belt clicking as he freed himself form the confines.

"_We have lost visual sir." _

"Zoë," he asked, concern laced in his voice. I felt his hands pull me up right, his hands cradling my face as he examined the few cut marks that had occurred during the incident. "Hey, you okay." I nodded a yes and slowly unhooked myself from the seat belt as well, groaning as my finger scraped over the glass that littered the seat below underneath of me. I could hear Jason coaxing Jacob out of his state of shock as he assured him that everything was alright. "Come one guys," the moans and crackling voices of the radio gave Jason's current state of worry away at once. "We have to move." It didn't take us long to crawl our way out of the rubble, the only thing we took with us was the duffel bag and several cans of food, and of course, Jason's gun that he had stored oh-so cleverly in the oversized duffle. "Come on, let's go." The sounds of the creatures, and the screams of the dying town faded into the distance as we trekked out way though the wilderness, pushing our way though thickets of tress and over moss covered logs; but the smell of the burning town still lingered in the air…

It really was the end…wasn't it…

**A/N: Eh, not my best chapter. And I apologize for Zoë and Jacob being so incoherent in this chapter; I wanted them to start out this way so you could see how they progress throughout the fic. I'm still a little iffy on this chapter; I'm a little rusty after having not written zombies for a while. Well, I hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Abandoned

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead is (sadly) not mine. However, I do own the Portman family. **

"_Hope never abandons you; you abandon it."-_ George Weinberg

Everything burned; my legs, my chest, my ankles, my joints…absolutely everything was on fire. Not to mention that the sweat that was pouring down my legs and face began to seep into the small cuts that lined my collar bone and arms, the underbrush of the forest felt hotter and more humid than it was out in the open, the canopy of trees and foliage giving it all the shade in the world; but the humidity… All three of us had our fill of slips and spills are we continued to trek through the Georgian forest. My boots were covered with mud, jeans laced with dirt and grass stains. The hair on my arms stood on their tips, our heavy breathing was the only sound that reverberated off the bark of the trees that surrounded us; the birds didn't chirp, the wind didn't whistle, and the sun didn't dance…it was almost as if nature it's self had frozen in time due to this crisis that had been bestowed upon us. My eyes danced around the forest again, my hands quickly catching myself as I slipped on the moss covered log that was lying across the trail, a small gasp emitted from my dry and dehydrated throat as I slumped against the musty smelling plants, panting, trying to get at least one good breath in. Jason had been leading us for what felt like the last hour. I really don't think he realized how out of shape Jacob and I were, and by the looks of me right now, and the way Jacob looked just a few miles back…I don't think we realized how out of shape we were either. Jason was lucky to have had the military training that he did; he had the advantage over us, not only in the physicality of the situation that would be demanded, but, also the emotionally and psychological aspects. I knew for sure that Jacob and I weren't going to be right for a long time, hell; my mind was still whirling with the images that I had witnessed today. Bundy, the people screaming on the streets, the military, their guns…that-that _thing_; that was the image that haunted my thoughts the most, the sickening feeling rising in my stomach once again as I starred down at the brown dirt, watching the earth worms burrow from their holes.

They were human, but, then again, they weren't. Extra-terrestrial; no, I don't believe in aliens. Some new species of humanoids; wait, that's in the alien department. They moved like I did, walked, slumped, but didn't talk. It was like their vocal chords were damaged, nothing but wordless moans and bloodied teeth. As volatile and dangerous as they looked, as they sounded with the skin leathery and broken, their eyes glassy and red, that one, that approached the car…it was like he wasn't looking at me, but, through me. Those teeth, the bits of meat hanging from them, stuck in between the gaps. I could feel my body go limp, the blood draining from my face as the recollections of the creature ran though my mind, it's mangled fingers spreading out along the glass of the car, the pounding on the doors, the whirling of the choppers, the air raid siren, although, that could still be ringing in the distance for all I knew. My back arched as I closed my eyes, the bile rising in my throat, Jason's voice sounded distant. "Zoë? What's wrong? We've gotta keep moving." It held a sense of urgency and worry, but, that was the least of my worries as I leaned over the mossy log, letting the contents of my stomach empty onto the ground below me. I felt someone's hand hold my hair back and it didn't take a guess to figure out it was Jason. I could hear Jacob's voice whining in the distance, moaning something along the lines of 'that's disgusting'.

"Come on, Zoë," Jason's voice was low, and calmer than I had heard in the pervious hours of the day, my back arched again, like a frightened cat as a dry heave emitted from my throat, my fingers digging into the moss as I held on for dear life. His hands gripped my shoulders, his voice still in a whisper. "We've gotta' keep movin'." I didn't answer until I was sure that my stomach had been emptied of the vile, digested food.

"Jason," I panted my voice shaking as my throat burned from the acidic vomit that I had just emptied onto the ground. "I've," a small whimper escaped my throat as I felt the hot tears burning at the back of my eyes. _Infected_, that's what they had called them… "I've gotta rest, Jay." I whimpered, "I've gotta stop." Jason wasn't one for confrontation, which surprised me due to the sheer fact that he had joined the Military…one of the most confrontational jobs you could get, but, he was one to argue his point, usually until the other person gave in and agreed to what he said; he got that from my mother's side of the family.

"Zoë, we can't." he sighed, his hands gripping my shoulders, pulling me up right as I continued to slump against the rotting bark of the tree under my body; shots rang out in the distance, none of them very close, but, none of them far away either. Whether it was the military looking for more people or citizens of the town protecting them and their loved ones…I couldn't be sure. A stifled and well defined gasp arose from Jacob's throat, I looked up lazily, and watching as his head turned this way and that, his hands visibly shaking. "We've got to keep moving, now let's go." I didn't take a genius to hear the contemplativeness of his words, they were on edge, almost like he was asking himself if his statement was true or not. I'd never seen Jason this frightened before, things didn't scare him, that was that, end of story. My original mind set had told me that was the very reason why he joined the military in the first place…because he could face anything and everything, head on. Now, I wasn't so sure if he could win this one…

"No," my voice shaking in protest as I wiggled from his grasp, my legs quivered from underneath of me as I sat down on the ground, my back pressed against the fallen log; I was too scared to move, too paralyzed with fear of the unknown to do anything but stare out into the bushes and miles and miles of trees and darkness that lay in front of me. "Please," I looked over at him, watching him carefully as he sat atop the log on my right side, the gun, which he had taken from the duffle as soon as we were hidden in the underbrush of the forest, ready to take on anything…human or –err- nonhuman alike was still held tightly in his hands. "Please, Jay, don't make me go back out there yet, please." I bit my trembling lip as my heart racked against my chest, each thump faster than the first. Jason sighed heavily, leaning his head down towards to mossy dirt beneath his combat boot clad feet, his eyes dancing across the soil like he was drawing imaginary patterns within its brown texture. After a few moments he raised his head, looking in my direction with heavy eyes, a nod.

"Alright," he said quietly, resting the gun atop the log as he stood up. "Alright. We'll rest, just for a few minutes." He added quickly. Jacob had joined us since, his frightened composure setting itself down onto the other side of the long. I studied his features; his face was a pale brown, forehead etched with creases of worry, eyes wide and starring as far as the eye can see the pupils expanded, afraid to blink. I heard a few things being moved around and both of our attentions quickly diverted to the source, it was Jason. His hands digging though the black backpack, I didn't understand what he was looking for until he pulled a bottle of Deer Park water from it's depths, he gave a small, soft smile as he passed it in my direction. I took it slowly, my fingers fumbling miserably as I tried to unscrew the cap, taking a swig, I sloshed the clear liquid around in my mouth, daring not to swallow though; I spit the liquid out, my calculations of its trajectory were a bit off, the sudden slight breeze pushing it in Jacob's direction. He jumped and cursed quietly in disgust as a few droplets landed on his already soiled jeans. "We have to make it to one of the boarder towns before nightfall." Jason looked away, his eyes squinting as he stood up from the ground, brushing the dirt from his knees as he tried to peer through the slivers of light that the sun could get though the thickets of branches.

I inwardly snorted; a border town. The only one close enough, according to Jason, was closed off. None of it was making sense to me, I mean, wouldn't they have wanted to the civilians to get out if something this devastating was occurring. I understood that they wanted crowed control and everything…but closing off exits and-and shooting them seemed a bit much. I shivered as the memories of today cut into my mind once again, my eyes closing as I rested my heat on the back of the wood, like a mossy pillow. "God," I sighed, brining my hands up to slide over my face in frustration, my tears and sweat mixing to together as I held my face in between my hands, eyes wide. "Jason, what's happening?" I whispered, I'd lost all hope of getting a direction answer out of him, this was just wishful thinking. "They," I chocked on my next towards, my stomach twisting in knots. "They were eating people." I looked in Jason's direction, watching as his eyes diverted towards the ground, his head shaking from side to side…he didn't want to believe it, I bobbed my head up and down, and challenging him as hot tears trickled from my eyes. "They, oh-god, they ate Bundy."

Jacob, much to my surprise, snorted in repose to my report; I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and watched as he stood up, his legs carrying him in a circle, pacing. He kicked a few tuffs of mossy dirt up from the ground, watching as it skidded to a stop. "Zoë, get a hold of yourself." He said once he finally stopped pacing, stopping so that he could face me; of course, gang up on me, because I'm the girl. It was a primal thing for the male race, whether it was a man like Jason, or a little boy like Jacob, women, not matter how young or how old they were, were always the damsels in distress. I could see right though his little act right now, he was terrified, absolutely scared of what was happening and what was going to happen. He was trying to act strong, for Jason, trying to impress him.

"Don't you even start, Jacob," I challenged, pointing a shaking finger in his direction as I brought my knees up to my chest, trembling still. His eyes diverted towards the ground as he placed his hands on his hips, his foot tapping impatiently on the dirt floor. "You saw what they were doing to those people…"

* * *

**Makeshift base- 3:30 pm Wrens, GA**

"Come again, soldier?" Sanderson breathed, holding the walkie up to his lips. His heart sank for a different reason this time; at first it was because he realized what he was doing; ordering his men to kill one of their own. This wasn't protocol, killing civilians that had nothing to do what was happening was an abomination and something that he didn't hold close to his heart or fully believe in either. He half expected this to happen anyway, knowing the type of man Jason was. He closed his eyes for a moment, the tip of his nose resting against the antenna of the walkie, sweat dripping down the bridge of the long and quite abnormally large part of his facial features. The crackling of the radio that was held in his hands was almost drowned out by the commotion that was continuing the rage on, reverberating off the walls of the tent. The place had lost all sense of structure as soon as Steven blew his brains out.

"_We lost visual sir."_ The soldier's voice was apprehensive as he repeated his original message to his superior, knowing that Sanderson would be anything but pleased with the information; especially since he was the one that had ordered his squadron, Delta 11, to stop Portman at all costs. Louis Sanchez, commander of Delta 11, didn't take pride in threatening his own men, let alone killing them, but, he made a promise to this country, so serve and protect it at any cost; and by god if a rogue militant was going to stop him from doing it. Louis winched, awaiting a wave of verbal abuse from his superior.

"What do you mean you lost visual?" Sanderson asked, his eyes still closed, one half of him was relived by the information that he had just received, but the other half of him was worried, not only did Jason somehow deflect their air strikes but when the General found out about this… He sighed out heavily, his fingers messaging his temples. He ran his hand over his face, his eyes tired and watering from the stress that he had been put under since early that morning. With his eyes still closed he rested a hand on his hip, tapping the antenna against his cracked lips.

"_They're gone sir,"_ Louis replied, the chopper continued to emit the loud, thundering whirl into the still air. The crowd below the aircraft had grown in size; the barrel of the gun was still positioned outside of the chopper, aimed down at the ground. Louis' moral standards had been stretched to their limit today; he could kill a person that posed as a threat to him and his country, but when it was your own men that were beginning to be the threat…that was a whole different story. He was there when General Tennyson gave the orders to neutralize all subjects that were sought to pose any threat, no matter if they were the odd humanoids that had risen from their dead slumbers, or if they were your own family and friends. _"They adverted us, but, we believe the target-"_Louis didn't have time to finish his report on the rogue solider before Sanderson was interrupting him. The older gentlemen's weathered face felt an eerie since of silence wash through the tent; he needed to look up to know who had caused this widespread sense of reassurance, hell, even if he didn't want to admit it, he still felt it. His glue eyes scanned the room, watching as several of the officers that were gathered around the various stations dropped what they were doing, their hands stiff as stone as they drew up to their foreheads, offering their welcome and gratitude in a solute towards the gray haired man that was walking though the tent, parting the group soldiers like Moses did the Red Sea. Sanderson cleared his throat nervously, his thumb pressing the button on the walkie, his voice quick and with edge.

"Find them," he ordered, his eyes watching as another group of soldiers stopped their route towards the exit of the tent, saluting the man. "They cannot- I repeat- they cannot get out of the state." His voice was hurried as he watched the man approaching the desk that he was occupying, his strides snow, shoulders rounded, head held high. "You understand me soldier?" he repeated, his eyes never leaving the man that was slowly making his way towards the desk.

Louis looked out over the now burning city, watching as several looters ran from the store that was now engulfed in flames, the billowing dark smoke licking at the sky, trying to tangle its transparent fingers around the chopper as it narrowly evaded the haze. He turned his head away from the scene as he studied the faces the three other soldiers that were on board; two in the back, and one up front, steering the chopper. Louis was going to regret asking the question, especially since every single one of them had trained with Portman during their time at boot-camp. _"Affirmative, sir,"_ He replied, watching as the solider to his left ripped the helmet from his head, throwing it down onto the floor of the chopper with a metallic bang; he knew Jefferson Roberts grew up with Portman, graduated Elementary, Middle, and High School together too. He looked away from the scene as Jefferson pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes hard as he continued to look ahead, his bottom lip trembling. _"What are your orders?"_

Sanderson took a deep breath, bracing his free hand against the wooden structure as he leaned forward, closing his eyes for a moment. Jason as good kid, with a good heart…he never let Sanderson down, and he never once stopped talking about this family; having nothing but good things to say about each and every one of them. He shook his head as he opened his eyes, his hard exterior was becoming softer by the moment as the order swirled around in his brain, his subconscious rewording it each time; but, there was no easy way to say what he was about to say. "Find them," he looked up, watching as the gray haired man's lips curled into a smile, a real, genuine smile; it made Sanderson sick to his stomach. "Then," he paused a second time, trying to find a way to bring it from the depths of his body, regretting it before he even said it. "Then you know what you have to do."

Everyone on the chopper was holding their breath; Jefferson holding the rosary between his fingers, his lips uttering silent prayers as his fingers moved the beads around, his eyes closed. Louis had never been a religious man; in fact, he only went to church on two occasions; weddings and funerals…that was it. Louis turned his head and looked at the soldier that was sitting next to Jefferson, his skin dark as coal, the gun resting in-between his knees; several times his apprehensive eyes glanced up at him every few moments. Samuel Harrison, that was his name, was as shy as they came; the didn't know Portman personally, certainly not on the same level that Jefferson did, but that didn't stop his heart from breaking for the boy, especially since his family was part of the containment solution now. _"Copy that."_ Louis replied, he closed his eyes and drew the walkie away from his lips as he heard Jefferson's chocked sobs from beside him. His head held in his hands as his body shook, the rosary clasped between his fingers.

"Col. Sanderson." The man's raspy voice greeted him. The slightly younger man quickly regained his composure, turning the dial on the radio down, canceling out anymore frequencies. He looked up to meet the man's steel gray eyes, almost matching the hair that was atop his head; the lingering tension in the room suddenly mounted each person with a vengeance, their bodes reeking of it.

"General Tennyson, sir." Sanderson replied back, saluting the superior just like the other soldiers had. General Grayson Tennyson held his hands behind his back, nodding in a respectful manner at Sanderson's greeting, that smug smile still stretched over his face. Sanderson did expect anymore more or anything less from the man that was standing in front of him; in fact, the mere greeting was an unexpected gesture.

"I uh-" Tennyson began to walk towards the desk, his eyes gazing down at the blood stains that hadn't, and probably, would never be removed from the cloth that acted as a floor, protecting them from the elements. Sanderson clenched his jaw tightly as he watched the man's eyebrows raise, almost like he was disappointed by the fact that a solider had taken their own life, or maybe he was amused…either way, it set something off in the Vietnam Vet. "See you've got a bit of a problem, colonel." He mused, grabbing the very chair that Steven had shot his self in, brining it in front of him as he sat down in it. Tennyson was a real piece of the work; everyone knew that; of course, no one had the audacity to stand up to him, unfortunately.

Sanderson chewed on his bottom lip momentarily, his eyes tracing the patterns on the oak desk, his free hand ran down his face, tugging as his lower jaw as he began to speak, looking up to face the man head on. "We're-uh- we're taking care of it, sir." He sighed, tapping a finger on the desk lazily, praying that Tennyson couldn't hear the regret pooling in his voice. "Don't you worry about that."

Tennyson snorted in response, producing a cigar from the pocket of his uniform pants. Sanderson watched as the old man lit the Cuban on its head, the smoke rising into the air as the old man puffed the smoke into the tent, a grim look on his face. He offered a drag to Sanderson, holding the stick out towards him; the younger man refused, waving it off with a flick of his wrist. His wife would kill him if she found out he had taken the bad habit up again, he doubted she would have any sympathy if he did it in this situation. "Louisiana's been compromised." He informed him, his shoulders shrugging as if he didn't care, almost like it was expected. Sanderson watched as the geezer took another long drag, puffing the smoke from the burning head. "Just got word a few minutes ago," Tennyson stood up abruptly, pushing the chair away from him. They were the stupidest bunch of soldiers he'd ever laid eyes on, sure, life didn't prepare you for the shit that was just thrown at them, sure, sacrifices were going to have to be made; but this was a matter of life and death, not wheter or not someone was going to forgive you in the end. "They got reports comin' out of Texas and Florida too."

Sanderson ran a hand over his face, frustrated; he was sure they had quarantined it… "Jesus," he breathed, almost as if he was waiting for the heavenly father himself to give him the answers he wanted.

"Yeah," Tennyson drawled, holding the cigar in his hands as he looked up, his eyes dancing around the room mockingly. "See, Sanderson, it comes to my attention that some of yer' boys were turnin' into softies." The old ma's mouth twisted in a snarl as he slammed the head of the burning cigar down onto the polished oak, the steam rising as it crackled against the cold surface, the smell of burning wood filled the tent. "Lettin' civilians though the blockades," Sanderson lifted his head, his eyes wide; that's how he taught his men…never leave a man behind, they doing what the army was supposed to do… "But, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that now, would ya'?"

"No-no, sir." He responded almost immediately. It was true, he didn't know they were doing that, but, did he have a hunch that that's how the rest of the check points got overrun? Of course.

Tennyson looked at the man for a moment, trying to keep the smirk off his features. He wasn't born yesterday; every solider is just as good as their commander, now, he'd never seen Sanderson in action, nor did he think he ever would, but, just by looking at him he could tell that he was a pansy, a softie; too much thinking and not enough shooting. "Well," he drawled, "Now ya' do." He narrowed his eyes for a moment, ready to get down to real reason why he left the safety of his bunker in El Paso to come down there. He'd gotten word of a rogue militant some hours ago, he knew they're would be some like this Jason Portman; scared, crazed, afraid, protective, but, what he learned about Portman's status on the way over to the makeshift base didn't lighten the situation. "Yer' not gonna let this one slip away are ya?" he raised his eyebrows, knowing full well that Portman was one of Sanderson's pupils. "I understand Jason was uh- a little witless." Tennyson raised his eyebrows, failing to find a better word. Sanderson inwardly smirked, Jason Portman wasn't stupid; stunted in the department of combat…but he wasn't stupid.

"No, sir." He replied, referring to his earlier statement. "We've-we've got a union perusing them now." His heart sank, he felt as if he was talking about an enemy. "They have orders to neutralize the target once they've spotted him."

Tennyson had been in this business long enough to know what Sanderson was feeling; hell, it was more of a family affair than anything if you were to ask him. Almost every man in Grayson's family had been in the military. Reading the files on the way over, he knew for a fact Jason wasn't witless, a pansy, but not witless. "He's a smart one then?" he cocked his head to side as he watched Sanderson's gaze intensify. "That why he wasn't with his squadron in Iraq?" Tennyson inwardly cheered, realizing the chord that he had just struck in the seasoned veteran. If anyone thought they could let something like that pass by him, they were dead wrong, and by the look on Sanderson's face…Tennyson could tell they had tested the waters.

* * *

**Warrenton County Bank - 4:00 pm Warrenton, GA**

"Look at these fuckers." The solider breathed, his voice holding a sense of amusement a he gazed at the carnage that lay in front of him. It was only a mere hour ago that those things were crawling around the whole town, tearing Warrenton's residences to shreds. He was one of the first off the trucks as they fled into the city, among General Tennyson's orders, guns blazing; this is what Kent lived for. The blood, the gore, the carnage, the adrenaline, some call him sick, he was a bastard in every sense of the word. Movement from somewhere in the crowd of dead caught his attention, a smile cracking over his lips as he stepped over the dead bodies that lay between him and the struggling undead; his friend, and comrade, Franklin, following in his footsteps like a shadow.

"This one's still movin'." Franklin observed, looking at the body as its body racked with spasms; Kent rolled his eyes at the lack of attention that his friend paid to his surroundings, you see, Franklin was a bit of a 'one plus two', in other words, he was a real dumbass. You wouldn't believe how many times he'd saved his ass on their tours in Iraq. Kent ignored the obvious comment and placed the toe of his boot under the body, kicking it so that the sought corpse rolled onto its back. Franklin jumped at the sight, gripping his gun tighter in hands as he jumped, cursing under his breath. His friend whistled, his face twisting in disgust as he looked at he convulsing woman on the ground, her eyes were glazed over with a milky haze, and her mouth was open in a wordless moan, as if she was trying to yell. Kent quickly moved his booted foot out of her reach as she gripped at it, a dry laugh emitting from his throat as she watched her. He tiled his head to the side, noticing the amount of blood that was flowing from her mouth, staining the floor below her, the skin on her arms was cracked and broken, almost like peeling wall paper. Her body, to put it into perspective, was mangled. He didn't think another second as he smirked, holding the gun in between his fingers as he watched her hand grasping for the barrel that was now pointed at her head, his finger pressed against the trigger; red liquid blew out from the back of her head, scattering the bits of brain and skull across the room. He knew that was the only way to get rid of things like her. Franklin screwed up his nose in disgust as he looked over Kent's shoulder.

"What do ya' think?" Kent asked, admiring his work before turning to his friend, motioning towards his most recent kill. "Ten points?" Kent was a bastard, this was nothing but a game for him; a game of cat and mouse, life and death…however you wanted to look at it. Franklin admired him for that, although, the poor soul also admired the creator of KFC if that tells you anything about him.

"Naw," Franklin observed, "That was a headshot." The soldier was well-versed in the language of computer scoring systems, especially for video games, before his parents made him get out of the house and join army he tested video games, unofficially that is.

"So, what?" Kent probed, motioning to the thing that was once a woman once again. "Fifty points plus a splatter bonus?" he smiled, a chuckle rising from his throat. Franklin laughed at the suggestion as well, earning a playful punch from Kent in his arm; Kent looked after him, and he was grateful for it.

"Dude, you're so fucked up bro." Franklin laughed. Kent continued smiling as he slung the gun over his shoulder, producing a pack of cigarettes from one of the many pockets that lined his military issued clothing. It was a nasty habit of his, smoking, but, he could care less as he held the cancer stick in between his lips, the flame of the lighter licking at the paper that contained the rolled up tobacco; he was thoroughly convinced that this would kill him before he went out like one of his many fellow comrades. _"Delta 5, come in." _The radio crackled; kicking the corpse one last night he held the cancer stick in between his fingers, blowing the toxic smoke from between his lips as he grasped the radio that was resting on his shoulder. "This is Delta 5, over." He repeated, he waited for the response.

"_Delta 5, what is your position?" _ The radio crackled again, Kent rolled his eyes, wishing he could just get a brake for five minutes, or at least a short few moments to finish the stick that was in his fingers, already beginning to fizzle out.

"Warrenton Country Bank." He took another long drag before throwing it on the ground, his heel stomping it out as he watched the ashes mix in with the blood that stained the floor. "All targets have been neutralized." His eyes scanned the room again, knowing that the bodies would soon be burned, and their ashes would be left for the window to carry them where it pleased.

"_Really?" _ The radio crackled again, and then beeped. Kent knitted his brows together, screwing his nose up in confusion as he looked out of the window, studying to military issued truck that was stationed just outside; several soldiers surrounded it, each of them having a smoke break.

"Yeah, dumbass," Kent spat, "That's what I just said."

The soldier on the other frequency chuckled, earning another strange wave of glances to course though Franklin and Kent. _"That's not what the thermal scanners readin'."_ Kent rolled his eyes while Franklin groaned in a protest; none of them wanted to shoot anymore of those things today. It wasn't that they didn't like the thrill, no, that's the reason why they joined the military in the first place…they were just sick and tired of it for the time being.

"Aw, shit." Kent sighed, brining his gun from his arm so he could hold it the way he was taught, locked and loaded as he cocked it to its right position. "What's the coordinates?"

"_Up the main stairwell, second door to the right," _The frequency explained, both Kent and Franklin's eyes gazed towards the long stairwell that led to the second level of the bank; from what he understood from the layout of the place, not much was up there aside from a few offices and the employee's lounge. _"We got eight hot ones on the thermal."_ Once the voice of the radio had all but fizzled out Kent turned to Franklin, a smug smile crossing his lips as he playfully nudge the man in the arm, and the other rolled his eyes. "Suit up, cupcake." He chuckled, stepping over the bodies of the dead as he made his way towards the stairwell. Franklin mumbled as he followed him, calling the mission out. The steps were freshly polished, the heels of the boots narrowly slipping on the stones. It take them long to reach their destination; Kent swore if this was some type of the joke that whoever was running the frequency was going to get their ass kicked, but, alas, they were right.

Kent stood on the left side of the door, closest to the handle, Franklin taking the other side; though the plywood door they could hear the unmistakable sounds of sobbing and a few hushed whispers. Kent listened carefully; he could hear a few 'are they gone?' and 'shush. Be quiet,' being tossed around, he motioned to Franklin quietly, pointing to the door and then motioning to his gun; they were unsure if the people hiding behind the door were armed in any way, being on the safe side, the military always went in loaded. Kent held up a finger, his mouthing uttering silently and without a word 'one', Franklin raised his own gun, steeping to the side so that he was now standing in front of the door, his booted foot raised a ready. 'Two', Kent raised his own gun; 'Three', Franklin's foot slammed against the door, the wood splintering slightly as he kicked the flimsy door opened; Kent took his stance, coming into the room quickly gun raised. The room suddenly became enveloped in a fit of screams and sobs, some of the civilians covering their heads while other raised their hands above their heads.

Eugene Portman was a firm believer in protecting what was his; right now, his colleagues, they were his; he had to protect them at any and all costs. As soon as the door seemed to come off its hinges the seasoned banker gripped one of the unsteady chairs from the carpeted floor of the employee's lounge, holding up, ready to clop whoever or whatever was behind the door. Seeing the barrel of a gun in his face and the culprit being the U.S Army didn't make him feel anymore at ease then he would have felt if one of those things was behind that door. He's seen what they did when they tore into the bank, shooting anything and everyone that passed in front of them, he was surprised that he had even been able to get most of the tellers up the steps with no major injuries, well, except for- "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Kent yelled, the barrel still aimed at the dark man, his trigger happy finger shaking against the black knob; if that man made one more move he would a justifiable reason to shoot to kill. "Delta 5! Stand down!" The room continued to erupt in a panic, Eugene shook, his body wracking with fear as he continued to hold the steel chair in his hands, ready to defend himself. "Put the chair down sir!" Kent ordered, licking his lips quickly; he loved confrontation, especially when he was the one that would win, easily. Eugene didn't move, his knuckles turning white as he gripped it still, sweat running down his face, staining his suit. "Put it down!" Kent screamed, a growl erupting from his throat. As hard as it was to drop the object to the ground, Eugene knew he would never win against the man's orders…he saw what those guns could do. He dropped it do the ground, the chair bouncing a few times before coming to a complete stop; his brown eyes never left the dirtied faces of the soldiers as they took a cautious step into the room. Kent's eyes racked over the eight people in front of him; the hero, the man with the chair was fairly tall, but, Kent himself realized that he still towered over him a good few inches, his black hair was shaved close to his skull, brown eyes beady, skin like mud. A woman sat on the floor nearest to the mini fridge, her eyes round and blue, bulging from her sockets; her skin pale and clammy from the sweat, blonde hair a disheveled mess…Becca Mackenzie was a mere twenty-four year old woman from Florida, moved here during the winter to escape the abusive relationship she was in. Another man, dressed in a suit, was seated next to the blonde, Carl Brown, was his name; he was a no-body, just worked there part time. Two older women sat in the back; both of them the same…facial features, clothes, the look on their faces everything. Evelyn and Natalie Erickson had done everything together, you know, being twins and all; they never left each other's sides, not once in sixty-seven years.

A younger man sat in the middle of the crowed, his knees drawn up to his chest, holding his arm close to his body, cradling it like a newborn; Benjamin Alperstein was the youngest of the bunch, twenty-two, and afraid of life as it was, a woman, who looked around the same age as Eugene sat next to the young man, her body rocking back and forth as she looked down at the carpeted floor, shaking; Samantha Grimm was a mother of five beautiful girls, ranging from three to fourteen years old, she didn't know if they were okay, but, all she could do was hope and pray that their babysitter had enough common sense to realize that something was wrong. A woman with short hair and pale brown eyes was the last to catch Kent's attention; she was resting against the wall near the two older ladies, her chin ducked to her chest. Toni Smith was thirty years old, unmarried, unloved….and unappreciated; the end of the world could very well be the best day of her life. "Sir," Kent's eyes ran another lap around the room, taking note of everyone again, "This is Delta 5, over."

"_Copy that, soldier."_ Tennyson's gruff voice carried over the system, _"What you got for me?" _

"Eight civilians." Kent replied, his eyes stopping on Eugene's form as he stood his ground, chest puffed out and shoulders rounded to perfection.

"_Any wounded?"_ The general asked, un-interested in their status of survival, the more that die on the own, the less they have to worry about taking care of.

"Any of you wounded?" Kent asked his voice fast. He looked back to see where Franklin had run off to, the boy us unusually quiet; the solider was standing watch at the door, like he should have been. The volatile solider became annoyed as he didn't hear anyone throwing statements at him left and write, bombarding them with their stories of horror and near death experiences, he rounded on the survivors, eyes breathing fire as he listened to their pathetic whimpers and cries. "Are any of you wounded!" he yelled again, watching as the worthless people jumped in their skin as his voice. A few of them timidly raised their hands; Benjamin, Toni, and Samantha to be exact. Eugene watched as the man's eyes counted the three that had raised their hands, his heart racing as he looked back in Toni's direction; she was an angry girl from what he remembered of her, always in a foul mood, but, no matter how unhappy someone was they didn't deserve this- "Three wounded, sir."

"_How, solider?"_ Tennyson chuckled slightly, _"Come on, talk to me." _

Kent rolled his eyes; how stupid could he have been. "Were any of you bitten?" he demanded, cocking his gun again as no one moved…the nerve of some people, his mind grumbled from within. "Dammit!" she snapped, his voice echoing off the walls as his scream of anger filled the room, his face grew red with anger as he watched the civilians jump once again, although, he was gaining some new found respect for the chair man…he was the only one that steeped to have enough balls to stand up to him. "Have any of you been bitten!" Kent took a threatening step into the room, but, before he could get any closer Eugene piped up, his eyes gazing over at Toni's figure again.

"No, no," he repeated, his voice slightly uneasy as he watched Kent's eyes dance about the room. "Just a few shot wounds, some cuts, but that's it."

"None bitten sir." Kent replied into the walkie that was attached to his shoulder, his eyes never leaving the uneasy individuals that sat in front of him, till cowering in fear. Tennyson didn't have to say anything more for the soldier to know what he was supposed to do, the sigh that crackled though the walkie accompanied by the quite _"you know what to do." _ Gave the silent and deadly order away; and for some reason, unbeknownst to him, he didn't feel one ounce of guilt as he motioned towards Franklin before turning to the group of eight once more…knowing that it would be the last time that he ever saw their faces, actually, it was going to be the last time anyone saw them…

"Alright, people lets move!" Kent ordered, his voice loud and authoritative as he waved his hand in their direction, motioning for them to follow him. He watched as several of them got up immediately, their hopes placed in the hands of the soldiers that were supposed to be helping them, not realizing that they were following them to their untimely and unnecessary future of darkness. The man, the one that challenged him from the start, he was the only one the hesitated, his eyes watching Franklin's startled gaze as he counted the people that were hobbling from the room, many of their praising the soldiers for their humanitarian efforts.

"Oh, bless you, bless you." Evelyn praised Kent as she grasp his free arm with her free hand, her frightened and ill twin sister tucked under her arm as they passed towards the door; Kent gave the old women a slight nod and an uneasy smile

"Just doin' my job ma'am." He nodded, "Now, move along. We got a tuck watin' to take ya'll to a refugee camp." That was about the sixth lie he had told today; first he told a little boy that he was taking his mother to a doctor, to make her all better. He was up in Trenton when the first wave of those fuckers came through, reports of attacks started coming in left and right; he did need to think twice when he saw the gnawed on part of the woman's leg, her son screaming. It everything to coax the little boy away from his mother, he didn't even realize the little boy standing behind him before he blew her brains all over the street.

Eugene was the last to follow the crowd down the steps, holding a weakening Toni under his arm; his arm enclosed her, wrapping around her frail frame as he began to help her hobble down the steps of the bank, trying with all his might not to look at the dead bodies that were already attracting the flies, decaying twice as fast in the heat of the day. The woman's head fell to the side, resting on his shoulder; her head was impossibly hot, running a high fever, and clammy as ever. He was the first to notice the bite on her leg, but, unlike the military, they didn't kill those that needed their help…he gave her his word. Kent and Franklin rushed ahead of them as the civilians stepped over the dead bodies; Kent wasn't stupid, he knew from her position in that room that she had been bitten, why else would someone seclude themselves away from the safety of a group. He motioned through the door to the other soldiers that were by the truck, letting them know what they had to do. Eugene squinted in the sunlight as he walked outside, breathing in the fumes that littered the air; death and smoke. It was long before the soldiers were upon them, dragging them this way and that.

"What are you doing?" Eugene demanded as Franklin pushed him up against the wall, his fist retracting from his shirt; he looked to the side, he wasn't the only one. Six other colleagues were lined up against the side of the building, all of their hands raised, some of them cradling their faces in their hands; they knew what was coming. Franklin didn't answer as he turned and joined the line of soldiers that were facing the group of frightened people. Portman's jaw locked, anger rising in him with each moment that passed; he had to accept the fact that this was it…but it was too damn hard. The cocking of guns filled the air as each solider took their stance, aiming the barrel at the seven people. A shot rang though the air, the rest of the group jumping as Toni's limp body landed on the concrete, blood pooling from the wound in the middle of her head; Eugene closed his eyes, praying that his children didn't meet the same fate or his wife- Dammit. He chocked back his tears, mumbling under his breath. "I should have been with you, Catherine." He mumbled, he slammed his foot down on the ground, his teeth gritting together as the little voice inside his head scolded him; _you should have been there, she's your wife…_

Kent turned from the scene, pulling another cigarette from his back pocket as he lit the tip, tasting the nicotine on his tongue as he walked away from sounds of the bullets as they tore though flesh and brick…and the sad thing is, he didn't feel one ounce of guilt

* * *

**Georgian Woods – 4:00 pm (Zoë's Pov)**

"They weren't eating them," Jacob insisted, kicking the dirt up once again. I looked down at the ground a dry laugh emitting from deep within my throat as I looked back up as Jacob, throwing a hand full of dirt back down onto the ground; feeling the gritty brown grit beneath my fingernails made me cringe. He believed me, he knew it…he was just too scared to admit it.

"Bullshit," I spat, pushing myself up from the ground. My chest heaved as I tried to push the events from my mind once more, knowing that it was going to take a hell of a long time to forget something like this. "Jacob, you saw it." I accused me, pointing a shaking finger in his direction; he continued to look at me with a blank stare. "Oh-god," I could feel the bile rising in my stomach again, or at least whatever was left in my stomach since it all seemed to be simmering away on the ground by now. "They-they ripped that woman's face-"I covered my mouth with my hand, sitting back down on the log as I felt my legs quivering from beneath me.

"Oh god, Zoë," Jacob whined, "What are you tryin' to say?" I looked up at him, running a hand over my face, wiping the sweat on the face of my already filthy jeans. "That their zom-"I quickly held up my hand to stop Jacob mid sentence, knowing that what he was about to say was absolutely ridiculous, and not to mention un-realistic, at least in my eyes it was.

"Don't, Jacob," I whispered, looking away as I placed both hands on my knees, my neck craning towards the ground. "Just-don't," Jacob laughed dryly, causing my cheeks to flush red with anger as I watched the little bugger pace in a circle for a moment; he didn't that when he was upset, chewing on his bottom lip.

"Well, Jesus Christ!" his outburst was quite unnecessary, his eyes ablaze with worry and frustration. I'd never seen Jacob like this before, well, at least not this angry with someone, usually he reserved this type of anger for his video games. "Zoë, what do you" Jacob didn't even have enough time to finish sentence before Jason cut in, his voice harsh as he slammed the pack back down onto the ground; Jacob and I both flinched, neither of us ever having seen Jason this stressed out before; I didn't even want to know what he looked like when stuff went down in Iraq…

"Will both of you shut up!" Jacob mumbled a few things under his breath as he back up against a tree, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared in the older boy's direction. I looked down at the ground, this wasn't a good situation to be in, and especially not when all of us were on our wits ends. "Arguing isn't going to help this situation." He spat, setting the gun down on the mossy log, his joints cracking as he bent down and placed the pack next to it. I looked up at him, screwing my nose up in anger as I stood up from the log; the heat was getting to me just as much as the situation was.

"Yeah," I scoffed, placing a hand on my hip. He looked up at me, his eyes rolling as he realized Jacob wasn't the only one with a chip on their shoulder at the moment. "Withholding information from your siblings isn't solving anything either." I spat, immediately looking down at the ground as Jason groaned in a protest, dragging his hands down his face in frustration.

"Zoë, what information?" he drawled out slowly, rubbing his temples. I rolled my eyes, scoffing as I let my hands fall back down to my sides in disbelief, a sigh escaping my lips. "I know just as much about this was yo-"

"Oh, bull, Jason!" I argued as I rounded on him, now pointing an accusing finger in his direction; keeping these pent up tears at bay were proving futile as I let a few of the salty tears escape my eyes, " They were shooting at us!" the sound of bullets and shattering glass filled my ears, "They-they knew you!"

"She's got a point." Jacob mumbled, earning yet along glare from Jason.

"Jacob, shut up." He spat before turning his attention back to me, Jacob all the while making faces behind his back like a spoiled little child. "Look," he sighed, looking down at the ground as he placed his hands on his hips, "You're right, they did know me, okay? But that doesn't mean that I understand what's-"

"Jay," I stopped him again, holding my hand up, "You're the one that came in screaming about how we had to get out of the city, not the news, not the television, not the radios." I named off the various sources of media that would have most likely reported the situation, if they had known about it; nothing was adding up. "You have to know-"

"Look," he began to explain carefully, taking a deep breath. I looked up, closing my eyes as I waited for him to continue; it was getting hotter by the second, and from the looks of the shrinking rays of sunlight that were peeking though the dense foliage I could tell that their wasn't much of the day left to go anyway. "They-they called me down to the base earlier today, alright. But-"he paused again, watching as my head snapped back in his direction…he did know something. "There was an accident somewhere in Louisiana last night, but-"

"Wait, wait, wait," I stammered, turning to face him, my eyes dancing around his. "You-you said something about an infected area?" he looked at me with an odd expression, his head cocking to the side as he knitted his brows together. _The infected area; _"earlier." I said quickly, my voice raising.

"Yeah," he quickly replied running a hand over his bald head. "That's-they thinks a virus, Zoë." My lips parted in a silent gasp of fear, my eyes growing in size as I ran a hand though my hair, pulling at the roots that were embedded in the skin.

"Oh, shit." I stammered, "Jason, what-what kind of virus does that?" I panicked, my stomach churning.

"A manmade one." Jacob replied. My heart sank as I sat back down on the log, rocking back and forth slightly; the news had been talking about that lately, they thought China had some sort of chemical warfare brewing, it wouldn't surprise me…half my Chemistry class back in Maryland were from there. _"Jesus, Jacob, can you keep your fucking mouth shut?" _Jason hissed, taking several long strides towards the teen before he dragged him away from the tree.

"What?" Jacob scoffed, ripping out of Jason's grasp as he glared at him; this couldn't turn out good, I knew that for a fact. Not only was Jacob unfit and at least a foot shorter than Jason was, but, he wasn't trained in hand to hand combat…which I'm pretty sure was included in Jason's basic training. "Jason, you're the one that's not telling us anything!" he shoved Jason away from him; _way to play sides Jake_…

"Jacob!" Jason rounded on him, gripping his t-shirt in his fists as he pulled him towards him, his feet dragging against the dirt as he desperately tried to breakaway from Jason's iron grasp. I quickly stood up; I wasn't going to let these two fight…or draw attention to us for that matter. "What in the fuck to you want me to tell you?" he shook the teen, Jacob still wiggling in his grasp, "That the military was engineering biochemical warfare?" Jacob finally ripped away from him, spitting at Jason's feet before he wiped his lips with the back of his hand, pushing his hair out his face.

"Were they!"

"Every country is!" Jason screamed back, I jumped, hearing his voice echo though the trees. The military…they did this. I had read about it in National Geographic before, countries using strains of smallpox to wipe out a nation, engineered virus that could destabilize a country within a few hours; it was all very plausible…but why would the United States do this to their own people… Never mind that, it had to be a new strain of something if that's what it infact was, smallpox didn't do that to people

"What-what if it's just a viral mutation of H1N1?" I suggested, trying to think of a plausible situation that would result in other eating other people…nothing was coming to mind, people didn't eat people…animals did.

"Well," Jacob hissed, earning a glare from Jay once again, "Then it's your lucky day, Zoë! You got vaccinated." Jason rolled his eyes and turned around, grabbing the black sack from the log as he mumbled a slew of curse words directed in Jacob's direction. I rested my hands on my hips, this wasn't going to work…them fighting all the time. All us nearly jumped out of our skins as we heard gunshots in the distance, they were closer than the ones we had heard a few minutes ago; my blood ran cold, I didn't matter if it was the military or other survivors…either way they would shoot; all too afraid to trust anyone, and who could blame them? Jacob was suddenly closer to us, his arm pressing against mine, his body hot with fear.

"We've gotta move." Jason warned us quickly, grabbing the gun and cocking it, his fingers trembling; I knitted my brows together, I'm sure he's used that thing before…but he acted as if he was afraid of it. I went willingly, Jacob trailing hot on our heels as Jason began to lead us up over the small hill quickly, pushing our way though the branches as they gripped at our skin and clothing, trying to rip us apart.

"Where are we going?" I panicked, stumbling a few times as we descended back down the same hill, my boots digging into the dirt as I followed Jason's lead; which meant sliding down a muddy hill, packed with mushrooms and dirt…I was never paying a hundred dollars for jeans ever again.

"I don't know," Jason grunted as he helped me up from the ground, mumbling as Jacob refused to be touched. Tendrils of hair stuck to my face and neck as an eerie breeze swept though the forest, rattling the trees, the birds clapping the wings up ahead. Jason slung the pack back over his shoulder as he kept going, Jacob and I following tiredly. "We'll figure it out though." He stood, panting as we all looked between the various natural trails that were cut though the forest, knowing the ach and every one of them held a different outcome.

"Well, if it's a virus," I asked, placing my hands on my hip as I wiped the sweat off my brow again, I was beginning to smell terrible "Wouldn't the hospitals have vaccinations? Like a-"

"Cure?" Jason finished, turning to look back at me for a moment, he shook his head, letting me know that assumption was wrong. "No, not the regular hospitals, Zoë, not yet. The only place that would have that would be-"

"The CDC." Jacob finished, Jason looked back and him and nodded, shrugging as he looked in my direction.

"Yeah, Jacob, yeah." All of us were out of breath by this point, confused. No matter which path we took, we knew that more carnage and death awaited us, it all just depended on how much was behind each thicket of trees. The one in the middle looked like a dead end, the one on the right led to more cities…and the one to the left led back to mom and dad.

"That's in Atlanta." I stated, my eyes glancing to the trail on the left. "Shouldn't we head there then? I mean, it seems safe." Jason turned to me and chuckled nervously, like my plan wasn't as good as whatever he had floating around his head.

"Zoë, do you know how many people probably just had the same idea as you?" I looked down at the ground for a moment; he didn't know what to do.

"Well," I protested, "Where else are we gonna go Jay?" he began to move to the trail that was straight ahead, Jacob following like a lost puppy. I stood there for a moment, Jason wasn't hearing me out, and I knew that much for a fact. I quickly rushed forward, my fingers shaking as they wrapped around his upper arm, stopping him quickly. "Jay, we can't hide in the woods forever." He looked at me for a moment, his eyes dancing across my face as he looked at me, "Besides, aunt Edie and Uncle Clark live there, right? We'll- we'll just wait it out." He thought for a moment, silence filling the forest once again before he answered, shaking his head in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, Zoë, alright. We'll- we'll go to Atlanta." He look at Jacob for approval, which he granted him with a shrug, as soon as he began to walk towards the trail on the left I grabbed his arm again, tugging at it.

"After we back track and find mom and dad." Jason sighed out heavily, letting his head hang for a moment; I should have known this was coming.

"Zoë, do you don't see what's in that direction-"

"Jason," I pleaded, "They're still alive" _I hope so._ My eyes welled with tears as my father's voice ran though my memory once more; I'd never heard him so terrified in my life, and my mother…she didn't even call. Yes, part of me realized how foolish this was, it was what most people would call a 'fools errand', but, my parents weren't such. "We-we can't just leave them there." Jason's arm wrapped around my shoulder, his lips brushing against my hair as he turned me towards the right, our legs moving in synch as we trekked towards the town that was all but destroyed, but knowing that we would have to stay hidden the forest for sometime.

"You know," Jacob panted as we came up on another slight hill, complete with giant roots protruding from the ground and all, the trunks gripping at our sore heels and toes as our boots caught on them all too often. "I don't understand why you just done go out there Jay, I mean you guys are brother in arms, right?" Jacob spat, the jealously was clearly evident in his voice.

"Jacob," Jason began, stopping to turn and look at him for a moment. I watched him closely, knowing that all Jason wanted to be to Jacob was a role model…I think that's why Jason joined the military in the first place, I couldn't be sure though. "I'm pretty sure that brotherly love is the last thing they're gonna show me." Something in his words sent a shiver down my spine as I moved a branch from my line of vision, ducking under it so I could follow the two men in front of me

It was the feeling you got when someone was watching you…

**A/N: Jesus was that long enough!? I'm sorry for the long chapters, but, once I start writing I find it hard to stop. I promise, if they're too long tell me, and I'll try and shorten them. Well, I'm a little iffy on this chapter as well, but I'd love to hear what you guys think. **


	6. Truth

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead is (sadly) not mine. However, I do own the Portman family. **

"_The first reaction to truth…is hatred."–_ Tertullian

It was incredibly hot by the time we reached the edge of the forest; my tired eyes danced around the desolate stretch of road that lay in front of me. The air was still and humid, the sun danced overhead it's rays licking at the exposed skin on the back of my neck, the only sounds that filled the silent earth were the crickets, chirping cheerfully, or, so it seemed; Jason's labored breathing mixed in with the sounds as he stood next to me, his face dirtied with mud and soil, his shirt riddled with small holes were the twigs of the trees had sank their fingers into him, the pit stains under the arms were repulsive to look at. Though, I knew I couldn't have looked any better; none of us had gotten a wink of sleep, hell, we didn't even know what time we finally stopped walking, even that didn't help. We sat there, our backs pressed against the face of a somewhat large tree in the middle of no where, the cold Georgia night nipping at our faces. Neither of us spoke to shatter the uncomfortable and eerie silence that filled the woods that night; but I'm sure all three of us were thinking the same thing. We were tired, actually, exhausted was a better word to describe how we felt…but we were afraid. I watched as Jacob squinted as we stood on the small incline, looking down at the road below us; abandoned vehicles, papers, and glass littered the street below us. The tiny fragments of the broken store windows glittered off the rays of the sun, they actually looked inviting; casting a slight rainbow across the street…like it was telling us that it was safe.

I slapped the back of my neck as I felt a slight pinch; as if the heat wasn't enough, now you had to deal with snakes and mosquitoes. I rubbed the spot as I felt the prick on the back of my neck well into a small sore, I scratched it. The sound of crinkling paper filled the air, Jacob and I's attention immediately diverting towards Jason as he held the map in between his finger tips; his brows furrowed in the middle of his forehead as he attempted to read the thing, Jason was never good with directions, hell, he couldn't even follow directions with a GPS let alone a real map. It was unnerving to see the paper turn each and every way it could, his eyes looking back up at the street before his eyes would dance around the vicinity that we were in almost like we were…

"Jason," I asked, my already sore feet carried me towards him slowly; my movements lethargic and resembling the way that those things moved, my feet drug across the grass leaving a few nasty grass stains on the bottom no doubt. He seemed to be ignoring my presence as I reached him, my eyes straining to look at the paper as he held it tightly in between his hands. I crinkled my nose as I felt a few drops of sweat roll down my face momentarily, the salty liquid baking against the hot skin of my nose and neck; my eyes danced over the paper as the sun reflected off of it, the glare making it hard to read, but, I could faintly make out the drawing of a red line that went though several points; this is what Jason must have been doing last night. Late, I wasn't sure what time it was I heard the paper shuffling around in the darkness, it scared me a few times, my mind still thinking that it was one of those things.

I continued to glance at the map over his shoulder, squinting as I tried to trace the line back to the several points that they met at; I didn't know how to read a map anymore than Jason did, now, Jacob…he could read a map. "Are we lost?" I piped up, my eyes narrowing as I followed the line towards the star that sat higher up on the face of the map, Atlanta in bold letters was seated atop the star, but, that line was going in the right- Jason suddenly closed the map, his forehead creased with worry lines as he turned towards me, promptly folding the map back up. He shook his head no quickly, 'no, no, Zoë, we're not lost.', I crossed my arms over my chest and watched as he stuffed the paper back into his pack, slinging it back over his shoulder; something was off about the way he was acting, I could tell.

"We don't have enough food or water." Jason replied, a heavy sigh leaking from his lips as he turned to face Jacob and I; the teen groaned in frustration and protest. Jacob was one of those kids that had to eat several times a day just to function correctly, he was skinny as a rail though, which surprised me, considering the amount of junk food that he eats on an hourly basis. The rest of the food that we had gathered from the house before we left was still back at the crash sight, we didn't have enough time to grab the duffle before we fled into the wooded areas. Jason looked at Jacob, rolling his eye momentarily; my stomach growled loudly, bubbling in the pit of my stomach. I placed a shaking hand over my gurgling belly and looked at Jason, we were all starving. He motioned to the ghost town the lay below the incline of the grassy hill that we were standing on, our eyes drifting to follow his lead; a few stores lined the carnage and garbage ridden street, I didn't want to admit it, but, I already knew that it was a possibly that the stores had already been looted and gutted of anything that could serve as a method of survival.

"Looks like there are a few stores down there," he breathed out, wiping the beads of sweat from his brow, "Looks quiet."

I shivered momentarily; the tone of his words didn't provide any solace about the fact that it probably wasn't as quiet as we thought it was. It was risk, going down into a town that was once populated by the living, not only because of the creatures that could be lurking behind every corner, but, the other survivors as well. Even though it had only been twenty-four hours since the outbreak. Jason looked at the two of us for a few more moments, awaiting our approval. "Well," Jacob huffed, the crickets playing an eerie tune in the muggy and darkening woods that lay behind us, the shrubs grabbing at our feet, the insects nipping at our skin. "What are we waiting for?" his brown eyes glanced at me for a moment as he shrugged, letting his dirty hands float towards the ghastly scene that lay down the hill, "I'm starving ."

The incline wasn't a treacherous as it looked from the vantage point that we had been at a few moments earlier, but, it wasn't a graceful hike down the hill either; the strategy was much like the one in the woods, sliding down and using your hands to propel yourself forwards, the heels of my boots were the only thing keeping me from falling forwards, when we reached the bottom Jason crouched low in the small ditch that separated the grassy area from the concrete road, a haze danced in front of my eyes like a phantom as the heat continued to cook the flesh of the dead that lay on the road in front of us. He motioned with his hand for us the crouch low; we did so without hesitation, imitating his stance as he lay on his stomach on the grassy earth. My eyes danced, taking in my surroundings from behind the blades of grass that tickled my chin and face, a few bugs burrowed into their holes in front of me; I cringed, I was never one for insects. The sound of Jason's movements caught my attention as I looked up from my spot on the ground, watching as he held the gun in his hands tightly; his stance ready to shoot at any moment. He motioned for us to follow him quickly; I tried my hardest to keep my eyes forward and focused on the store that Jason was swiftly moving towards, my boots clicking against the scalding ground. I'm sure the smell wouldn't have been as bad if this situation had occurred in the winter months, the sun was cooking the dead bodies that lay around us; I couldn't tell you what most of them looked like, I tried to forget they were even there.

My hand immediately covered my nose and mouth as I felt my stomach churn unpleasantly; the smell was stronger as we neared the shade of the overhang of the building for some reason, glass littered the ground beneath my feet, crunching under my boots as I stepped forward, flies buzzed. Jason aimed the barrel of the gun inside of the shattered window, the artillery moving from the left to right as it scanned the room, looking for anything that may have been a target; it wasn't until Jason lowered the gun that Jacob and I realized that the coast was clear. Jason went though the broken window first, stepping into the small corner store slowly and as quietly as possible, Jacob was next, and then me, of course, with their help. It was dark, the tiled floors were covered with shell casings, glass, unopened packages of food, overturned carts…and blood, and it smelled. The dairy products were already becoming sour, it was easy to smell the milk and the cheese, the other smell that was wafting in the slight breeze that carried though the desolate structure was worse; it was meat, but was it from the butcher's counter or the dead that may be strewn around the back of the store? I didn't want to know. Jacob commented on the smell almost immediately, gagging slightly as he looked down at the smeared blood on the floors and shelves. Jason's eyes were the size of gulf balls as he looked around, the gun slung over his shoulder as his shaking hands unzipped the pack; I knitted my brows together…wasn't the military supposed to prepare you for stuff such as this?

"Alright," he breathed, his nostrils flaring as he tried not to breath in the stench that lingered around the room, gripping our five senses in a choke hold "Jacob, canned foods only." He ordered, handing the bag to the teen, Jacob took it hesitantly, his eyes darting at the bottom of the bag before he looked back up at Jason. "No dairy, no frozen food." Jacob nodded slowly, his feet smacking against the floor as he hurried down the isle quickly, Jason turned to me at the same time Jacob fled, "Zoë, you keep watch." He turned, his eyes dancing around the store before the brown hues landed on the signs that danged above each isle; Cereals, breads, pasta, coffee…hygiene; I sighed inwardly, what I wouldn't give for some toothpaste and mouthwash, I mean, I'm sure The Red Cross would provide us with the necessities as soon as we reached Atlanta, hell, maybe they were on their way to outlying towns around Georgia right at this very moment. "If you see anything, and I mean _anything, _you gotta warn us, okay?" I knew by the frightfulness in his voice that he wasn't being coy over exaggerating anything that he had just told me, I nodded in a response, having nothing else to say before he headed off in a different direction of the store.

If you thought chaos was a scary thing, try being in complete silence, well, almost complete silence, I could hear a few things falling onto the tiled flooring where Jacob and Jason were scrounging for food, it didn't look like this place carried much of anything to begin with; the looters probably cleared the place out in under a few minutes. It was the scariest part about the whole ordeal, how everything went from hell, to well, just nothing at all…like nothing happened. The only things that accounted for the events that had taken place were the dead bodies that littered the ground, and the abandoned vehicles that were scattered about; the files buzzed in the heat of the sun as it moved higher into the sky, its rays washing over the ghost town, the crickets chirped louder. My arms encircled myself as I stood by the window, watching, waiting. I shivered in disgust as my eyes ran over the dead that littered the street, the closest to us was one that was hanging out of the door of his or her car, their body mangled, shirt ripped and torn, almost to shreds; flies buzzed around the corpse, already implanting their larva into the rotting body; I scratched the back of my neck and looked away, feeling uncomfortable, my eyes drifting down towards my wrist so I could check the time on the invisible wrist watch that was wrapped around the bony part of my arm, it was something everyone did when they were uncomfortable, looking around at anything besides what had caught their attention in the first place, letting my hands flop back down to my sides I paced in a small circle slowly, my eyes dragging over the bloody hand prints that were smeared on the floor below, some of them smaller then an adult hand print; I cringed, a moan, a low fatigued moan. My blood ran cold in my veins as I tuned around slowly, my ears ringing, heart thumping against my chest, I swear anyone in a five mile radius could have heard it. I didn't scream when the moan erupted again, my eyes connecting with the figure that was hanging out of the car lazily; the hands of the individual gripped at the searing concrete, another moan falling from his lips, but, then I heard it. _"Help…help me."_ The voice sounded fearful, and tired, a sob covering the words. If I wasn't so frozen in shock and fear myself I would have helped whoever it was without a second thought, but, seeing as the situation we were in…

"Jay," I whispered, my eyes never leaving the figure as he continued to try and pull himself up into a sitting position. I didn't know if the man had been bitten or not, either way, he was just as dangerous. There was no answer from the other two survivors behind me, I stood still as several aluminum cans hit the tiled flooring behind me, Jacob's voice hissing a few curse words; my fingers shook as the man finally lifted his head, as much as I wanted to look away from his badly burned face, the skin peeling off like layers of an onion, his chapped lips scabbed and bleeding, his eye swollen shut and puffy…if he wasn't like one of them, I'm sure he wished he was dead. Another painful moan erupted from his lips, his hand stretching out towards me. _"Help me…please."_ Should I have felt guilty? I continued to stand there, watching the injured man's twitching fingers as he continued to reach for me, as if I was his savior…I was just a kid, and a scared one at that. "Guys," I asked a little louder, still no response; the last time I yelled for them they showed their faces immediately, well, at least Jason did. His semi bald head emerged from one of the isles, the bag sagged heavily in his hands, but, I could tell that he hadn't gathered nearly as much as what he had intended to; his eyes were wide and alarmed as he glanced at me…I only pointed, my shaking finger motioning towards the man that was tangled in the seat belt. Jason's eyes followed the motion of my finger as he looked upon the same sight, his mouth falling open slightly. The man's voice continued to beg for our assistance, growing more desperate by the second.

_We had to help him_; the sound of a vehicle caught our attention, our minds abandoning the idea of saving the man for the time being. The machine was a behemoth; pained a series of greens to blend in with the trees, camouflaged, though, I'm pretty sure the chameleon vehicle would do little to deceive the enemy in this situation. Jason's eyes widened as the realization struck us, his hand gripping my shoulder and pushing me down behind the outcrop of the window where the glass used to be. Shit, they found us. I closed my eyes and leaned my head down towards the tiled floor beneath us as I listened to the enthusiasm of the soldiers that were now piling out of the Jeep that was outfitted for battle. I couldn't understand how the ones that were supposed to be protecting this country could kill innocent people, knowing full well that they were unhurt and un-infected. Their whoops and 'ho-Ra's' filled the air, a few gunshots were fired; I flinched at the sound, unknowing if they were directed at the stiff air that smelled of death or at the man whose soft cries still seemed to trickle into my mind.

"Zoë," Jason's voice was soft, panic laced in every word, his breathing shallow. I looked up as he placed a hand on my shoulder, his touch searing. "We've gotta go." I knitted my brows together at his order; there was no way that we were getting past them, hell, as soon as we popped up from out hiding spot we were probably going to be picked off one by one like a flock of geese.

"Jason," I hissed, grabbing his ankle as he turned slowly in his spot on the floor, I could see his hands shaking beneath him as his own covered the bloody hand prints that would forever stain the floor. "We-"I struggled to get the entire sentence out without making a scene, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention. "We can't go back that way." I informed him, a few cans toppled from the isle to my left, I shivered. Jacob was going to get us all killed. Jason rolled his eyes in annoyance and turned sharply, still squatting down in an uncomfortable position; sweat beaded the top of his head as the amount of flies buzzing about the room continued to grow.

"Jake," he hissed, motioning for me to follow. My stomach churned as I watched Jason lower himself to the ground, his stomach sliding across the filthy tiled flooring; I'm sure this was just something that was taught to him during his basic training, he would be used to this. I followed his lead, no matter how much the rest of my body protested against my arms scraping against the heated flooring, my faces inches away from specks of dried blood and the occasional body parts as I propelled my self forward. Jason called Jacob's name several more times, quietly that is; but the teen never answered, instead we were greeted with the sound of a few falling cans and soft curses as he continued on searching for his fill of food. All the while the talking outside of the store intensified, most of them swapping horror stories of the last day and a half. None of them sounded remorseful in the least, my ears only picked up the negative aspects of their tales as the spoke loudly. "God Dammit, Jacob." Jason hissed again,

"Will you hold the fuck on?" Jacob retorted, his voice low and harsh as he continued to stuff food into the sac. Somehow, Jason and I had crawled the short distance between the window and isle, narrowly avoiding the gazes of the conversing soldiers; we stood up slowly, my back ached as I stood up from the floor, the palms of my hands littered with dirt and grime. I snorted as I looked at the array of food that was stacked upon the shelf next to my shoulder, everything from melted candy bars to Little Debbie Cakes lined the shelf, almost as if the rest of the survivors had just bypassed them with little or no thought; Jacob must have seen this as a sign from God, since this was all he ate day in and day out.

"We need to go _now_." Jason hissed as he grabbed Jacob's arm as he reached for the Hostess Cupcakes that were on the highest part of the shelf, his arm suspended in mid air. The two of them starred at each other for a moment, the rise and fall of their breasts identical as the two of them silently prepared for a brotherly beat down; I stood still, watching the both of them carefully. I still wasn't sure why Jacob resented Jason as much as he did right now, I had a feeling we were going to hear about this later though.

"_Hey! We got a live one!" _ My body went rigid, the blood traveling in my veins halted suddenly, the heat radiating from my body matched the temperature outside, but inside I was freezing…frozen with fear, frozen with anticipation. This was it; it was over…they found us. I listened to menacing laugh of the solider that grew closer and closer to the window that Jason and I had occupied no more than a mere three minutes ago, the sound of their combat boots smacking against the bloody concrete. My hand shook, but the rest of my body stayed still, too afraid to even flinch as a fly buzzed around my face; its small bacteria ridden legs descending upon my cheeks as it ran across my face, fluttering grain sized wings. Jacob looked from Jason to me, his head moving slowly in either of our directions. _"Look at this."_ The solider laughed again, _"This poor bastard got stuck."_ The man's hardy laugh carried in the wind as I finally realized who the men were referring to; it was the man in the vehicle, the one that was still alive…

"_What are we gonna do with em'?" _a new voice sounded. I was frozen in my spot before Jason grabbed a hold of my wrist loosely, pulling me into the isle more as he motioned for Jacob to quiet his earlier job; we needed to get out of here now. Putting a finger to his lips, Jason motioned to his finger to the back door of the shop. It was well hidden behind the rows and rows of shelves that were thankfully shielding us from their sights; after witnessing the events yesterday, we all knew that they wouldn't give us a change to explain ourselves…they were the shoot first, ask questions later type of men. I didn't pay attention to the earlier soldier's remark, I could only assume that it was something crude from the way the other laughed, a wheeze erupting from his throat as he did so. My boots scuffed against the floor silently, the echoing resembling that of a sheet of paper scraping against a floor as we neared the back exit, thankfully, the door was slightly ajar, allowing us to easily open it without being noticed; the only thing in our way was the dead body that was propping the escape route open. Jacob exited first, his curly hair sticking to the back of his neck as he jumped over the rotting corpse at our feet, his nose wrinkled in disgust as a slight breeze blew the stench of rotting meat towards us. I quickly lifted the collar of my shirt, covering my nose and mouth with it as I gazed down at the body; this thing, this man that we were just jumping over as if it were going to hurt us probably had a family, kids, a pet dog even…two bullet holes sat at the base of his neck… "Zoë." Jason hissed, I blinked a few times, my eyes slowly looking up to meet his as he jerked his head towards the door.

"_No, please, don't…don't do this." _ My left foot was already digging into the grassy soil outside of the exit by the time I heard the pleading voice from the other side of the store; my eyes starred at the shelf of unopened food before us, Jason's head turning to listen as well. I knew Jason, I knew him all too well…his shoulders rounded, the grip on the gun in his hand tightening, a tense cloud filled the air. Another grunt rang through the air as the sound of something, obviously a blunt object, connecting with flesh floated in the erratic breeze. I swallowed hard; they were killing him. It sounded again, another moan, a weak scream. They were killing him with their bare hands, with the butt of their weapons.

"_There ya' go son. Colonel said to get em' all, didn't he?" _ Another hit, another moan, another scream. Another followed, a few 'whoops' and 'get em' get em's' erupted; my stomach churned, my body shook. With each blow that connected with the flesh I flinched, almost as if I could feel what this man was going though. They weren't just killing him…they were destroying him…but somehow, he was still very much alive. Jason turned slowly, I could see the regret within his actions; he moved slowly, hesitating a bit before reaching a hand out and placing it on my shoulder, turning me towards the door. The sounds of the slowly dying man continued to sound as we exited the building, Jason turning every few moments, his fists clenching into tight balls on his wrists as he starred after them…

* * *

**Georgia Woods; Time: unknown**

It was just a minor setback; that's all it was. I paced back and forth, the rays of sunlight peeking beyond the trees to reach the exposed skin of my arms as I crossed them over my chest protectively. Jacob sat on a long mossy log, a stick in his hand as he squished the line of ants that were retreating to their own homes within the rotting tree; a minor set back…hell, who was I kidding, this was a huge setback. Jason had been sitting there for at least forty minutes, the red marker in his hands signing the paper over and over again as he rerouted the map, never quite finding one that he liked. It was a few minutes after my erratic pacing had subsided that he stood up from his spot on the mossy earth, the gun slung over his shoulder as he closed the cap over the marker before stuffing it into his bag again, declaring that we were on our way to Warrenton once again. The walk in the woods was tiring, my legs felt like jelly as we climbed the third hill, who knew the Georgia wilderness was this hilly? It wasn't a big hill by any stretch, but when you haven't had any source of sufficient rest for almost two days, and you smell like a pig…it gets tiring. We had only been walking for what felt like a few hours by the time we finally stopped, almost for the tenth time since was left that slaughter house of a food market.

"Jesus," Jacob sighed, bending over and placing his hands on his knees; he coughed, dry heaving as he spit onto the ground before him. "I gotta take a piss." He declared, standing up right as he shifted his weight to his other foot. I titled my head, a small eye roll playing on my face as I looked at him; I had never been on for the whole 'declaring when you need to relieve yourself' thing. His hands flopped back down his sides as he looked at me, his eyes wide with mockery and annoyance. "What, Zoë?" he countered, almost as if he was challenging me, yet, I had said nothing that needed to be challenged. "Don't act like we didn't have to wait back there," he jerked his thumb in the direction in which we had just come, the trail was eerily still, and quiet and the shadows of the trees played against ground like a puppet show of their fingers tearing at the earth, digging. "Just because you couldn't hold it."

I wasn't going to argue with him; especially not a subject such as this. I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest as I rolled my head in Jason's direction; this is exactly why I wished mom and dad had decided to have all girls instead, on the other hand, I wasn't sure if we would be here right now if I was born into a family of all women. Jason shrugged, biting his bottom lip as though he was trying to keep something hidden behind his lips; he smirked.

"I gotta go too, Zoë." He declared, I sighed out heavily and let my eyes drift back towards the soil beneath my boots before I looked back up at him. We needed to keep moving…especially if we wanted to reach mom and dad sooner than latter. Jacob whined from behind me, the pitter patter of his feet against the ground as he did the "potty-dance" echoed into the breeze. He looked absolutely ridiculous, crossing his legs together, his face screwed up in an unattractive manner. I took every ounce of strength for me not to laugh; maybe that's what I needed…humor.

"Come on, Jay." Jacob whined, "I'm gonna piss myself."

Jason scoffed, trying to hide the wide smile that was playing on his lips as he shifted his weight to his other foot; I didn't even understand why they had to go so bad, I mean, it's not like we had drank any water…Jay limited that stuff to us. He was the Water Nazi. "Alright, alright." He sighed, placing his hands on his hips; it seemed to be getting hotter by the second. "We need to stay in the area though." Jacob sighed in relief and threw his hands in the air, mumbling words under this breath as he began to, and very quickly, might I add; descend the opposite way down a narrow hill that led into a different part of the forest, completely covered by trees and brush. I was a little more than shocked at how bold he was becoming, especially with those things crawling around every corner of this place. "Jacob!" Jason called, stopping the teen in his tracks as he turned back to face us for a moment, "Where are you going?"

"To Wal-Mart, Jay." Jacob replied, sarcastically I rolled my eyes, he wasn't taking any of this seriously, I was starting to see why dad was so hard on him all of the time; he thought life was a joke, something that he could play with and when he got bored toss it away for a new one…this experience might make him think better of his actions, but, I doubted it. "Where in the hell do you think, I'm going." He didn't wait for Jason or me to reply to this smart-ass comment before he was on his way again. Fear surged though me at a speed that I didn't even know was possible as his form disappeared behind the thicket of trees; I couldn't see him, that worried me, but what frightened me was that…I couldn't see if anything else was there. For all I know he could have just walked into a trap.

"Jake!" I yelled, craning my neck to look over the trees that were towering over the trail; my heart beat against my chest with a force of a thousand tons, almost propelling me forward before I heard his annoyed voice scream a 'what' in my direction. "Don- don't go that far!" I struggled to get the words out, sure, siblings are supposed to care about each other…but not breathe down their necks every waking moment. "Stay where we can see you!"

"Are you nuts?!" he called back over his shoulder, his mop of hair fully disappearing from our view, "I'm not going to piss in front of you guys!" I couldn't keep the look of fear from flashing across my face as I turned to face Jason his own expression was the complete opposite of mine; a smirk played a his lips as he let the gun hang limply on his arm, chuckling slightly. Maybe it was just the maternal instincts kicking in, but, I didn't find anything about this situation remotely amusing. Jason must have seen the look of horror cross over my features as I turned back around to glance into the trees, awaiting Jacob or one of those things to emerge from the depths.

"Zoë," he chuckled, placing a hand on my shoulder, I turned around slowly, hesitating before each step. "He'll be fine." I would have believed him, I wanted to believe him…but I couldn't. They way the words rolled off his tongue told me that he didn't believe a word of what he was saying, he was only saying them to ensure my sanity was still intact; that ship would sail soon enough.

"How do you know?" I questioned, placing a hand on my hip as it cocked out to the side; my mother and I got the same attitude when we were frustrated about something. I blinked as I waited for an answer, Jason's head slowly turning towards a ticket of brush that was a few feet away, just starring…like he could see something that I couldn't. I followed his gaze, but, slowly, just in case he was trying to communicate something to me. His jaw clenched, his eyes still searching for something unknown; it scared me, he was scaring me.

"Because," he suddenly said, his trance still transfixed on the thicket. His fingers drummed against the side of the gun calmly, the tips making a slight drumming sound. "They have no idea we're here." He turned to me, shrugging his shoulder slightly. "Besides, those things seem to stay where the people are….and you don't see a bunch of people running around in the woods, do you?" I nodded my head, knowing that we were probably the only survivors lurking in the depths didn't make me feel any better about being left alone. "I'll be right down here." He pointed in the opposite direction before quickly walking away; I was unarmed, alone, terrified…

I watched as Jason's back disappeared into the ticket of trees that surrounded the area down hill; I couldn't see either of them. I'd never experienced anxiety until this point; I was left beside myself. I looked around for a moment; my eyes training themselves on the trees that swayed in the breeze, every twig that snapped and bird that chirped made my stomach churn and skin crawl with fear. If I lost them…I didn't know what I would do. If I lost them…there was nothing that I could do. I sat down on the log that Jacob had occupied a few minutes ago, the toes of my boots wrapping against the ground, creating a distraction from my thoughts. That's when I heard it…a scream…an all too familiar scream.

"Jacob?" I whispered, maybe I was hearing things. Anxiety can do that to people, I stood up anyway. My legs felt like jelly as I stood still, facing the way that Jacob had left only moments ago; the hot sun streaming through the trees licked at the back of my neck, swearing dripping down my face. It wasn't until the third scream erupted that my legs kicked into gear, finally finding their motivation to charge. My heels dug into the dirt of the trail as I raced towards the sound. "Jacob!" my heart beat against my chest, bottom lip quivering. He screamed again. Did I really want to see what was happening to him…if anything was happening to him at all? What if- what if one of those things- My stomach churned, threatening to spew the few contents of food from its depths as I neared the screaming; Jacob's back came into view first, his body quivering as I ran up behind him. My feet sloshing around in the stream, it was freezing compared to the water that we had been sipping on for the last few days. "Jake-" I hissed as I grabbed his shoulder, my knees sinking into the muddy dirt and flowing water as I kneeled down behind him, gripping his shoulders. I could feel his body jolt beneath my touch; he was shaking, literally shaking. He never got this worked up over nothing.

"Zoë," I knitted my brows together and followed the direction that he was pointing in, his finger shaking. I gasped as my eyes connected with the creature's own; it was far away…but not far enough. My body went rigid with fear; neither Jacob nor I dared to move as we watched the creature's finger nails dig into the swampy dirt, pulling his body towards us. A low moan rang from deep within its throat, his head lift up, water and dirt dripping from its lips; something about it so too familiar though. The curve of its face, the checkered shirt that was ripped and sordid; it continued to propel its self across the small stream, stopping in the middle as it's fingers grasped a few of the sizable boulders that the water rushed around. I could finally see why it wasn't walking; there was nothing from the waist down, nothing but choppy meat and intestines that were floating in the water behind it. My bottom lip shook, trembling with revelation. I knew him. I knew that _person_. Jeremy Hall…I graduated with him. His hand reached forward again, unable to pull himself up and over the rocks that were in his way, the muscle mass disappearing by the second. It was like…he needed help, he was asking _me_ for help. I shook my head; they weren't monsters…they were people…they were sick… The water continued to rush into my boots; neither of us noticing nor hearing the click of combat boots against the rocks on the bank…

"What are you doing?" the voice hissed, I jumped as Jason gripped the back of my shirt, pulling both Jacob and I up from the water. _Jeremy _watching helplessly as Jason pulled us back up the bank, pushing us up the hill. A low snarl that sounded more like a sob erupted from his mouth, I turned…watching as he opened his mouth in a wordless groan again, the side of his face lowering to lay on the rock that he was stuck on. I pushed the lump that was forming in my throat back; I couldn't feel regret…because he wasn't that boy I graduated with anymore…he was something entirely different.

* * *

**Makeshift base- Time: Unknown, Wrens, GA**

"Colonel!" Sanderson squished the Whiskey around in his mouth again, the alcohol burning the thin lining of his cheeks as he sat at the makeshift desk; the chaos in the tent had died down significantly from earlier in the evening, most of the soldiers now sat in front of computer monitors, watching one by one as the video of the attacks raged on, fizzing out until the screens were nothing but a grey mess of white noise. They were loosing; everyone knew that. He could see the faces of his men as they walked back into the tent to recover, their faces weathered and making them look ten times their real age, their uniforms stained with the blood of the comrades…and dare he say it, their enemies. The public was their enemy, the survivors we their enemy…they were each other's enemies. "Colonel!" he swallowed with a gulp and cringed as the alcohol burned his throat, roughly setting the glass back down onto the wooden table beneath his hands. He was surprised to see Jefferson as he looked up from the table, knowing full well that the soldiers assigned to the choppers weren't supposed to come off their posts until all the towns and cities within Georgia were fortified.

"Son," he staggered up from his seat, he wasn't drunk, but, you could sure as hell smell the whiskey on his breath; it was only one bottle, no harm done. "What are you doin' off your post, solider?" Sanderson inquired. The look on Jefferson's face didn't call for any explaining; his white face was pale, hell, Sanderson had never seen a white person so…white in his whole life. Jefferson hadn't gotten a wink of sleep that night, it wasn't only because of the whirling of the chopper and the constant refilling of the gas that it took…his childhood friend was out there…and he didn't know if he was dead or alive. He didn't sign up from this, he didn't sign up to kill the people he grew up with, he didn't sign up to kill the shop keepers that had chased him out more times than he could count when he was a little boy. His eyes were red and puffy; the tears that had leaked from his eyes during the night left his soiled cheeks stained with them.

"I'm not doin' this!" he screamed, clenching his jaw together. Sanderson was a bit taken back by the boy's outrage; he was good solider, did what he was told to do…always let people walk all over him. The colonel raised an eyebrow at the way he was being addressed, yes, he understood that this was a time of turmoil…but he still expected to be treated with respect. "Sir." Jefferson added, sheepishly.

"Sanderson," he was like Faustus; the good and bad devil's battling it out on his shoulders. Tennyson's voice was gruff, laced with sleep deprivation and authority as he stepped up next to him, propping himself on the edge of his desk, a glass of whiskey held in his hand, the amber liquid sloshing around in the glass as he tipped it to his lips. "You better control your ducks."

"What?" Jefferson retorted, looking from Sanderson to the General; he'd heard about this man before, he was a legend, a fable that the older soldiers would tell the rookies so they would know not to get in his way…like the Big Bad Wolf. Right now, Jefferson didn't care about formalities. "Who in the fu-" he was outraged, watching as the General stood up right, erecting his chest to show who was in charge, the whiskey glass connecting with the table loudly.

"Jefferson," Sanderson growled, breathing heavily; this was a battle of wills. He knew why the young soldier was here, he knew what his complaint was…and he had ever right to voice it. On the other hand, Tennyson was his superior, tenfold, he was in charge…what he said went; no questions asked. "Back to your post," Jefferson starred him down, breathing heavily. "Now."

He didn't want this, he didn't need this. Jefferson needed his life, his children, and his wife…not this. He had thought about this several months ago, was the military really what he wanted to do the rest of his life? He was gone for months on end, hell; he'd even missed the birth of his youngest son because of it. He's missed birthdays, Halloweens, kindergarten graduations, wedding anniversaries. He was loosing them… "No." he challenged, setting the gun down onto the table. Sanderson followed his actions with his eyes, his dull blue hues traveling over the sleek black weapon that was laid out in front of him.

"Excuse me?" he asked, his voice hard as stone; he wouldn't admit it…he wished he could do the same at this point in time. They had gotten word that Warrenton had been overrun just a few hours ago; that was the last town to go…Atlanta was next.

"I didn't sign up for this!" Jefferson responded violently, the hooks of his helmet ripping as he threw it down onto the ground, the hard metal slapping against the blood stained sheet on the floor with a clang.

"You signed up to defend your country." Tennyson smirked at the argument that was raging between the soldier and the colonel at the moment; he'd dealt with plenty of rogue soldiers in his long military history. He could see Sanderson was weak in that department, a softie at heart, a hard ass on the outside…typical. He snorted; it was like watching two toddlers fight over the last toy in the play bin.

"I wouldn't have if I knew that killing my friends was part of the contract." Jefferson spat, running a hand over his shaven head, the hair that was starting to grow back prickling the palms of his hands. Sweat beaded his forehead and bridge of his nose as he paced in a full circle.

"Son," Sanderson came around to stand on the other side of the desk, facing the young soldier. "Everyone has to make sacrifices in hard times-"this was his speech, the speech that he gave to every single one of this soldiers…and he didn't believe a single word of it anymore. Sure, everyone made sacrifices…but they had nothing but regrets later on, regrets that equated to larger things that turned out to ruin most of their lives when they got back into the states. That sacrificed their sanity for that job…they sacrificed their humanity…

"Sacrifices?" Jefferson snorted, running a hand down his face, biting his lower lip to keep the sarcastic and somewhat manic smile from his face. "Killing your own men is a sacrifice!" he screamed. The soldiers sitting at the computer screens and monitors turned around in their seats, watching as the argument escalated. Jefferson grabbed the chair that was sitting by the blood stain, small specks of the plasma were still drying on the surface of the seat, and he threw it. The legs of the chair snapping like twigs as it hit the ground. "When in the fuck was that established!?"

"Watch your tone, solider!" Sanderson pointed a finger at the raging man; he knew trying to keep his authority at this moment was futile. "Remember-"he paused, closing his eyes for a moment as his body shook, "Remember who you are talking to."

"I won't do it." Jefferson repeated, his shaking fingers quickly unbuttoning the uniform shirt that covered the sand colored t-shirt beneath it, pulling the jacket off he threw it onto the table that occupied his weapon; the badges that he had earned throughout his career looking up at him. This was a sacrifice…his job for his family; and he wouldn't have it any other way. "I'm done." His fist gripped the dog tags that dangled around his neck, ripping the chain from his neck he threw them down onto the floor; his father had cried when he showed him these, tears of joy that his little boy was joining the army. His father seemed to have the same dream for his grandson, join the military one day. Sanderson looked down at the floor, Tennyson standing behind him arms crossed over his chest as he watched the soldier; never had he seen such a disrespectful act on American soil…

"Solider," Sanderson breathed, "You walk away now…it's over." He emphasized the warning; he'd had plenty of young men chicken out during his time in the army, saying that they didn't need to do this among other things. Usually his little pep talks worked. "No second changes." Jefferson shook his head; he knew what he was doing, he knew he was "betraying" his country, "betraying" his men…. And maybe he was, but if it took betrayal to save a country that was already lost…then he didn't see the point in staying. He just wanted his family. The young soldier spit on the ground at Sanderson's feet and turned away, glaring at the General before stalking towards the exit of the tent.

"Sanderson," Tennyson placed a hand on the man's shoulder; the good angel was gone. Sanderson looked to the side, mentally breaking every single one of the General's fingers as they curled around his shoulder, squeezing. Tennyson was a manipulator, and a good one at that. "You know where he's goin' don't ya'?" he inquired, his voice holding fake suspicion. Of course Sanderson knew where he was going…he was going to the exact same place that he wanted to be right now; with his family. Tennyson didn't loose, and he sure as hell didn't let disrespectful little punks just walk out like this was nothing; now, he wasn't a murder by any since, at least, none of it had been done by his own hand. Tennyson slowly pulled a pistol from the waistband of his pants, glancing around slowly, making sure that none of the other soldiers in the room were paying attention to the exchange over by the desk. Sanderson looked at him as he felt the hot metal being pushed into his hand; looking down his eyes widened. "You gotta make sure he doesn't get off this base." The older man explained, almost in a whisper.

Sanderson was out of his element as he stalked after the boy, leaving the General with a satisfied smirk on his face. He had nothing to loose if he did this; he had his demise planned out. Everything was gone, everything; if he wasn't responsible for the other thirty people in that tent he would have taken the gun that was laced in his fingers and ended his own life right there, in front of all of them, but, the Captain always goes down with the ship; he would wait it out, but, he knew he was coming to an end soon. He'd called his wife several times in the last twenty four hours, never getting anything but her voice mail. He tried his teenage daughter; but the same…he knew they were gone. "Jefferson." _Don't make me do this_. The young soldier waved his hand, dismissing the sound of Sanderson's voice was he continued to make his way towards the line of vehicles that were practically sitting atop one another; he was getting his family, and getting the hell out of Georgia. "Jefferson," the young man rolled his eyes as his hand grasped the handle of the black jeep, ready to pull the door open at any moment.

"Look, Sanderson,-"he never got to finish his sentence. The older man looked at the scene in front of him as the gun shot echoed in the distance, smoke rising from the barrel and floating in the wind. Jefferson slumped against the jeep, blood and brain matter splattered on the drivers side window. Sanderson shook, dropping the black weapon onto the ground at his feet.

* * *

**Georgian Woods; Near Night fall. [Zoë's Pov]**

Well, at least we had one miracle. That miracle was an old station wagon that was parked on the side of the road; after the incident in the woods Jason decided to try the roads for a bit. It was different, I felt exposed as we climbed into the back of the station wagon. The owners before us must have abandoned the vehicle for some reason or another; in the back seat a few blankets were folded, two pillows occupied them…and there was firewood, why they would grab that on their way out of the house was completely beyond me. We hadn't been traveling long before the sky began to haze over with colors of pink and orange, the clouds darkening as night threatened to take the light away from us; Jason absolutely refused to use the headlights. "We'll rest here for the night." He declared, bringing the car to a spot on the side of the road, closest to a ticket of trees that hid it quite well. I looked out of the window as I sat forward in the car, my mind drifting back to the run in earlier; I still felt guilty, we couldn't help the man back and store…and I couldn't help Jeremy. Jason and I were alike in that aspect of our personalities; helping people was a part of us, thanks to our mother's "Mother Theresa" gene. Jacob…well, he liked helping himself.

"I'm starving." Jacob groaned from the back seat; his stomach made a gurgling noise. One that all too well resembled the noise made by Jeremy earlier, yes, I still refer to him by his name…not by whatever he was now. My own stomach growled loudly, Jason raised an eyebrow and opened the car door before getting out. I followed suite, the two of us joining Jake at the back of the car where the trunk was opened like a small flea market. Jake handed me a log to sit on while Jason opted out for the ground that was still relatively warm from the heat wave during the day.

"Same here, Jake." Jason sounded his voice groggy. "Pass the duffle." Jacob tossed the black pack towards Jason whom caught it with expert speed; must have been all those years playing varsity baseball in High School. My stomach sounded again as Jason unzipped the bag, pulling its contents from its depths. "Snowballs?" Jason noted, looking up at Jacob with a confused expression, I too was confused; none of this was "survival food". "Twinkies? Tuna?" Jason threw the hostess products and the day old fish that was probably already beginning to turn ripe. "Jake, what the hell?"

"You guys were rushing me!" he defended himself. Jason threw the bag down onto the ground with a thud, the rest of the contents shifting around and banging up against one another; sure, Jacob should have followed the rules, but, as long as it was food right? I grabbed the duffle and began to rummage threw it, my hands narrowly avoiding the unopened packs of squished cakes and melted candy bars as I dug my way to the very bottom of the bag.

"I said to get food! Not-"

"You can digest it, can't you!?" Jacob argued back, giving Jason that annoying head cock to the side that most teens did when they have in their terms "fried" you. I smacked my lips together as my hand wrapped around a can at the bottom of the bag; let's hope it wasn't spaghetti sauce or olives. Dusk only provided me with enough light to make out the name on the can…baked beans, my hand wrapped around another square shaped can…only one thing that I could think of came in a square shaped can…

"Well, Jason," I interrupted them, tossing both can's into Jason's lap. "He did manage a can of beans and some spam." Jason picked up the cans, all the while Jacob crossed is arms over his chest in defeat. "Must be the video games." I mumbled, raising an eyebrow as I passed the bag back to Jason. Let's hope that the Red-Cross had better food than this, I was actually surprised that we hadn't encountered any of their vehicles yet.

"Ugh, I wish mom were here to fix this stuff." Jason whined as he opened the can of spam; I raised an eyebrow…isn't that why they made him eat during basic training? Oh well, guess being forced to eat something doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to like it later on. I couldn't agree with him more at the moment as he tore the top of the can opened, the foul smell of corned beef filled the air…and it looked like dog food. Not to mention that it smelled like it too. Maybe I would pass on that and just eat the beans instead.

"Psh," I sighed, taking the can of beans from the ground and popping the top opened, it smelled like barbecued honey. "She'd probably scold us about how unhealthy it is." We all chuckled. A shiver ran up my spine as my fingers picked at the honey flavored beans that were sitting in the can, my stomach growling at the sound. Tension filled the air…it felt as if we were remembering her…like she'd been gone for a while. It was a little unnerving, seeing Jacob sitting in the trunk of the vehicle, his knees drawn up to his chest like a scared little child. I knew Jason and I were waiting for a witty little comeback to float from his lips, but instead he sat in silence, wallowing in self-pity for some unknown reasons...we all were feeling guilty. I picked at the food slowly, savoring each bite as if it could be my last; I'm sure it wouldn't be though; I mean mom and dad were probably on their way to Atlanta by now, hell; they might even be there already. Soon enough we'd have her cooking back, her words of wisdom and our father's hardy laughter. "You want some?" I passed the can to Jason before leaning back on the log, watching as the sun continued to fall beyond the horizon. Another day gone, another sleepless night was ahead. I shivered as a light breeze blew in just as the sun fully disappeared behind the trees, at least we didn't have to sleep in the woods again.

It wasn't more than a few minutes later that Jason informed me that Jacob had fallen asleep; covering the teen up with a blanket he came and sat down next to me on the ground, neither of us saying a word. I wouldn't admit it…but I was scared that we were the only ones left, I mean; the last 'survivor' we encountered was the man at the store…and look what happened to him. "This is a hell of a time for the end of the world to come, huh?" Jason asked, his hands fiddling in his lap. I had begun to notice how nervous he really was over the course of our small meal, he didn't eat much.

"What do you mean?" I inquired, knitting my brows together as I faced him, wrapping my arms around myself as another breeze blew. He shrugged his shoulders after a moment of silence, clearing his throat as he traced patterns in the dirt with his index finger.

"Global warming, pandemics, stock market crashes…the war." He emphasized the last problem as he named them off like a list; maybe all of those things contributed to the end of the world. I sniggered at the list of things…the war. The war was the basis for most of the problems that the United States was facing.

"Come on," I smiled sheepishly, "This really can't compare to the stuff you see over there." I stated. Jason never really told me what he saw over in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East, I only learned the horrors from National Geographic and CNN when I had time to actually sit down and read a book other than my ones for my college classes.

"Over where?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow. I screwed up my nose in confusion for a moment…what? I let an uneasy chuckle escape my lips as I looked at him.

"Iraq." I stressed the word. He was silent for a few moments before he finally nodded is head up and down, finally comprehending what I was saying; this wasn't like him. Something was wrong…and it wasn't what happened earlier. "Jay," I scooted closer to him, resting a hand on his arm as I sat forward. He turned and looked at me, digging his heels into the dirt and grass beneath us. "Are you okay?" _No bullshit._ I knew he would try and convince me that everything was fine, he would tell me not to worry and that he had a lot on his mind. Well, from the looks of it…I had more than enough time on my hands to hear what he had to say. He began to move his head up and down, doing exactly what I knew he was going to do…the very thing that I didn't want him to do. His demeanor changed quickly though, his head moving side to side now; the universal sign for…no. _Bingo_. "You wanna talk about it?" I could only guess that being overseas and seeing that devastation would cause more than a few psychological issues to arise…and then coming home to your own soil to see basically the same thing; I really had no clue how I was going to get him though this one. "I mean, you always avoid the question in my letters-"

"Promise me something," he suddenly sounded. I looked at him and nodded my head for him to keep going, keep explaining. "No matter what," he searched my eyes as I starred at him, confused. "No matter what happens," he seemed look off for a few moments, his eyes starring into a thicket of trees across the way of the road "No matter the circumstance…you'll never leave someone behind, Okay? No matter what they've ever done to you, alright?"

Why was he telling me this?

"Please," he pleaded, grabbing my arm. I continued to stare at him; I didn't understand any of it…why did I need to know this? It's not like he was going…. "Promise me, Zoë. This-this thing is gonna get worse before it gets better. If you wanna keep your humanity then…" he trailed off. Transferring adult wisdom to second in line…like he was saying goodbye; he wasn't making since, he was beginning to panic.

"Jay, what's wrong. This-This isn't like you." I questioned. I knew my brother, I may not have seen him in over a year, but I knew him like the back of my hand; he never faltered under pressure, never panicked. He covered his face with his hands for a few moments, running the dirtied fingers over his eyes before he let them fall back into this lap, his eyes closed.

"God, Zoë," he sighed, his voice cracking. "I-I never went overseas." I choked on my own breath…what? Never went overseas. The revelation replayed in my mind over and over again before it finally dawned on me… "I was never stationed in Iraq." He continued, even in the dimming night I could tell he was crying; I saw the outline of his arm lift up to wipe a few of them away from his cheeks.

"Where have you been then?" I asked, quietly, still in shock.

"Whidbey Island." I could feel my ears grow hot with hatred as I turned and looked at him, eyes wide. That was only a hop, skip, and a jump from Georgia by plane.

"That's-"

"In Washington State." He finished the sentence for me. I could feel my chest tighten as a few tears leaked from the corner of my eyes as I listened to him ramble on and on about how sorry he was, apologizing every other word though a fit of tears.

"You've-you've been in the country this whole time…."

"I know,- I know," he covered his face with his hands, wiping more tears away. "I'm sorry, I-I wanted to tell you guys sooner but-"he sniffled again, using the back of his hand to wipe away the tears that were falling form his eyes. As much as I wanted to hate him right now, as much as I wanted to smack him across his face and scold him for his actions…I couldn't. I sympathized with him, for a reason unbeknownst to me. I should have known that he was too much of a softie to join the military, he wouldn't kill a fly. "I was gonna tell mom and dad-before-"

"You should have told us." I mumbled, wiping a few of my own tears away.

"I-I didn't want to disappoint dad."

"Dad," I sighed, "Dad would have loved to know that you didn't join the military." I half laughed, half sobbed; remembering the countless times that mom had called, dad raging on and on in the background about how they just need to let their boys come home. Dad was only happy about him joining because he thought it made him happy, and vise versa.

"Don't- don't tell Jacob." Jay added, before he stood up, grasping my arm in the process. I looked down at the ground and nodded before looking back up at him. No matter what…he was my hero. Always had been…and always will be. Just the fact that he was going out of his element now, playing the savior in all of this was beyond anything I'd ever seen the military do.

The conversation lasted for an hour; Jason, instead of going overseas and being in the line of fire, stayed behind and worked at the base in Washington State, working computers and other things…I didn't understand most of what he was telling me. I could feel that it was late by the time we crawled into the trunk of the station wagon, Jacob's groggy voice scolding us for waking him up. "Wait," I panicked as Jason began to close the trunk. We were all dead tired… "Who's gonna keep watch?"

"Zoë," He grunted as he closed the trunk, listening to the lock click as he lay down on the other side of Jacob, covering himself with one of the blankets that were already in the back. "We'll be fine. Promise." I wouldn't be able to sleep, knowing that those things were out there…besides, we weren't hidden by the forest anymore. "Here," I turned as Jason stretched his hand out towards me. Looking down I noticed the small white pill that was sitting in the palm of his hand.

"What's this?" I asked, taking it from his hand as I laid down on the other side, nearest to the gun and knapsacks; the pill was small, and white almost resembling the full moon that was casting a silvery glow over the road.

"Lunesta." Ah. A sleeping pill. "You'll sleep like a baby." I answered, his voice riddled with wanted sleep. I shrugged and popped the pill into my mouth; there really were no pros and cons that I could weight about this…sleep, or no sleep. Strength or no strength. Hopefully the various commercials I'd seen for this medicine were telling the truth…

* * *

**Thicket across the Road: Kent**

"Sir," Kent spoke into the radio, his southern drawl laced with sleep deprivation as he looked though the sniper scope that was mounted on the top of his gun; the infrared sensors showing the three warm bodies that were snuggled together in the vehicle. He chewed on the end of the tooth-pick that was held between his teeth. Made him sick to his stomach; they were all probably infected. At least, that's what he's heard. It's gone airborne or some shit like that. "I have targets in my sight."

"_Hold fire solider." _Kent jerked his head back away from the eyepiece and glanced at the radio that was attached to his shoulder; pansies…all of em'. He knew Tennyson wanted the three of them dead, especially Portman. Hell, Kent was supposed to be living it up at a base in California right now, drinking beer, watching porn….playing video games. That was his life…the military was just a small part of it.

"What? Why, Sir?" He was just itching to let a few rounds off, "I've got em' locked. They're sittin' ducks." He hadn't shot anything in a few hours. Kent lived for the thrill, the rush he got when his finger pressed against the trigger was better than any drug he'd ever tried. Hell, Tennyson knew he could get this job done…that's why he chose him to do this important task of wiping the rest of the Portman's off the map.

"_Yeah,"_ the radio crackled, "And so are you." Tennyson sighed. _"Every fucker in a five mile radius will be on your ass if you fire that thing. You understand?" _Kent cursed under his breath as he looked though the scope again, watching as one of the figures sat up, the red moving about before it lay back down. He knew that they knew that he was there. He'd been tracking them since he came up on that thing in the woods; the creature with the plaid shirt made him laugh as he stood on the rock before it. The lower half of its body missing; pathetic.

"Copy that." Kent growled. Shoving the gun away from his body he reached into his pocket and pulled a cigarette from its depths, lightening it quickly. The taste of the nicotine on his tongue filled his senses as he took a long drag. _"Head back to base, son. We'll get em' soon enough…" _

**A/N: I'm not really happy with the way this one turned out. Anyone find the Zombieland plug? ;]**

**I really hope readers continue to embrace this story! Daryl should be making his appearance VERY soon! **


	7. Two of the Lucky Ones

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews guys! I really do appreciate them! This chapter is another filler per-say; it's just to get the ball rollin'.

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead is (sadly) not mine. However, I do own the Portman family. **

Stuffy; that was the only way to describe how the air felt this morning…or maybe it was afternoon? I couldn't be sure. My eyes opened slowly, immediately closing again to shield the sensitive pupils from the blinding light that was streaming in though one of the back windows. My shirt clung to my body from the sweat that was collecting on the surface of my skin. God, that _Lunesta_ really did knock me out; I could see why the bottles for these sleeping pills usually came with the 'do not operate machinery while using this drug' warning. My legs were drawn up into the fetal position, and boy were they cramped as ever; sleeping in the bed of this van wasn't too easy, I mean, without the help of sleeping aids that is. I slowly lifted my head from the white face of the pillow, grimacing as I felt the tendrils of sweat drenched hair sticking to the side of my face, the smell of morning breath lingering in the air; I didn't remember if any of us had grabbed tooth brushes on the way out to the car two days ago when we fled Augusta, I just hoped that we did. Quickly wiping the hair away from my face I looked around the car, my eyes scanning the two motionless bodies that were laying next to me; Jacob's mob of unruly hair covered his whole face almost, his light snoring filling the back. Jason was sleeping just as soundly, his arms thrown over his eyes and pit stains adorning his shirt. I really didn't understand how these two slept the way they did. I remembered when Jason was in High School, he would sleep literally all day if mom would let him, which she never did. Dad was the one that had always insisted that we get all the rest that we wanted. Jacob was the same way, when I had come home during the Spring Holiday he slept until four o'clock one day, and was then up all night playing those stupid video games of his. My mouth opened as I let a yawn escape its depths, my arms lifting high above my head as I raised them towards the roof of the car; Jacob snorted in his sleep, pulling the small blanket high onto his shoulders as he buried his head underneath of it. I grimaced as I closed my mouth, realizing just how dry my throat was, I would be even more surprised if the water that was sitting in the bag (which was directly in the sun), hadn't already evaporated.

You know what they always say; the early bird gets the worm. I figured if I ate my ration of food now, then Jason and the bottomless pit wouldn't get all the good stuff. Those two were more alike than any of us three; they both got defensive when they were upset, each were armed with that witty sense of humor and sarcasm, and neither of them ever admitted their problems. Well, at least Jacob didn't ever…it just took Jason a little bit more time to muster up the courage to do it…like last night. I sighed as I remembered the conversation that Jason and I had before we retired to bed; now that I come to think of it, I really shouldn't have been that surprised, I mean, Jay was always the nice kid, the doormat that everyone walked all over. I would never tell Jason that dad cried the night he left for basic training, I'd never tell him the countless night's dad and I had spent on the phone, devising ways of getting Jason back home. I should have known Jason only joined because he wanted to make dad happy, because isn't saying that your son his serving his country the greatest honor of all? To the other father's it was everything…but my dad…he just wanted us to do what made us happy. I slowly got to my knees, careful not to kick Jake in the face, even if he did deserve it. Leaning over the two of them I grabbed the duffle bag, the metal buckle burning the small webbed part between my fingers as I grasped the hot fabric, pulling it towards me; a small orange pill container rolled forward, the ratting noise filling the trunk. Knitting my brows together I reached for it. I didn't remember any of us having a prescription for any type of medication, mom and dad had a few but…My eyes widened as they slowly scanned the label that was printed across the top: _Eugene Portman_, our address and phone number adorned the bottom half of the label. _Oxycodone_. I couldn't believe what I was reading, I mean, I knew dad had some problems with sleeping after he threw is back out but…Oxy…really?! It took a minute for it to dawn on me; that wasn't Lunesta that I took last night. I glared in Jason's direction as I opened the pack, throwing the bottle of pills back into it. I had never done drugs in my whole life, and I never expected it would be my own brother who gave it to me. Deciding I would deal with him when he finally woke up, I wasn't sure how many of those he had taken, maybe he wouldn't wake up. I continued to rummage though the various packs of cakes and the few cans of beans that had fallen to the bottom of the bag when...

"_Shit." _ I froze, my hands stationing themselves in mid air as the curse word rattled though my brain, penetrating the walls of the vehicle. All was quiet, aside from the chirping of the frogs and crickets that were sunning themselves on the leaves and rocks; I could clearly hear the footsteps of whoever was outside of the car rummaging though the things of trash that we had left out last night. Like a scared rabbit, I shoved the bag away from me, laying flat on my back in the spot that I had woken up in this morning; motionless. I was too afraid to look at the visitor, unknowing if it was the army or just a straggler that was passing through.

"Jason," I whispered, my voice shaking, my heart beating against my chest with the force of a million tons, if that were even possible. No response, he only stirred, turning so that he was lying on his side. This wasn't the time to be panicking, but, I had never done well under pressure. Carefully, following the directions that National Geographic had provided the audience with when discussing how to sneak past a sleeping bear, I shakily leaned over the slumbering teenager that was snoring beneath me, my hand smacking Jason on the back of the head. "Jay," I hissed, hitting him again as he mumbled a few profanities in my direction.

"Zoë, What the-"he scolded me, turning so that he was facing me. His eyes were heavy with the drug induced sleep that he had just awoken from, his movements and speech slurred. Before he could throw anymore insulting words my way my voice slithered though, silently, working shaking with each syllable.

"There's someone outside," I whispered, my eyes widening at the revelation that I had just admitted to; it's true, my mind could have been playing tricks on me, and it was a good chance that there was no body out there, but, just to be sure. Jason's military mode, or, whatever military mode he did actually have, kicked in the second I uttered the words. Reaching beside him he pulled the gun into his hands; I'm not even sure if he'd actually even used that besides the shooting range during his training. He sat up slowly, careful not to rock the car, if the straggler really wanted something than he would have checked the vehicle already. It wasn't a second later that Jason was moving towards the latch that opened the trunk, his eyes still trained on the window that was over looking the small site that we had made our camp; he put his finger to his lips.

"Zoë, stay in the car." He commanded. The tone of his voice sent shivers up my spine as he closed the trunk with a thud. Something about this situation wasn't right. Part of me wanted to cover my ears and bury my head in the pillow under my arm just in case Jason had to do something that I knew neither of us was comfortable with doing. Curiosity always killed the cat…

"_Hey!" _ Jason's voice was louder than I had heard it in the past few days, and it had adapted a ring of authority to it; makes sense though, I mean, he was the oldest. I slowly turned so that I was sitting on my knees, my eyes peeking over the brim of the window as I watched Jason approaching the man slowly.

"_Jesus,"_ the man almost screamed, from what I could see around my 6'2 older brother who was looming in my path like an eclipse, the man dropped the can of spam on the ground; I wrinkled my nose in disgust, he must have been desperate, I mean, that stuff had been sitting out all night, baking in the heat…and he ate it. _"You scared me there for a minute." _ The tone of the visitor's voice caught me off guard he sounded…scared? Knitting my brows together I crawled into the row of seats in front of the trunk, posting my hand on the door handle as I observed our new "friend." He was skinny, his lanky form saying from side to side as he stood before the militant, his eyes were small and beady, shirt dirtied with dirt and hair a disheveled mess of blood and sweat.

"_You, uh-"_Jason's gun never lowered as he continued to approach the man that was as skittish as a stray animal, his feet moving backward every time Jay stepped towards him. _"You alright?" _ I guess my observation of the man's staggering demeanor hadn't gone unnoticed to him either; he stood one his left leg slightly hopping every few steps like he was in pain when too much pressure was on it. Their conversation went on for a few more moments before I finally mustered up the courage to step out of the vehicle. The inside of that car was cool compared to the heat that washed over me as I closed the door behind me, obviously Jason had been explaining to him who his traveling companions were. When I turned around the man was tossing a friendly wave in my direction, I returned it. "And my brother." Jason went on, gesturing to the car again; the man seemed to be looking for the other figure to emerge. I stood there awkwardly, trying not to look at the man as he continued to sway back and forth. "What about you?"

"Nope," the man sighed, looking down at the ground for a moment; lethargy and heat exhaustion playing at his features and movements. "It's just me." The tone of his voice changed dramatically, his voice dropping, laced with depression. I'm almost sure that everybody in the entire state was carrying around that tone of voice right now, I mean, we hadn't seen Red Cross, or any other organizations that usually helped during a crisis.

"Sir," Jason said, slinging the gun over his shoulder as he stepped towards the man, "Why don't you sit down, okay?" the man swayed to the side again, but obligated, seating himself on the logs that were still sitting outside near the cans of empty food. I hadn't realized Jacob was awake until the trunk opened his mop of hair plastered to his face as he rubbed his eyes of sleep. He looked flabbergasted as he opened his eyes, his sight registering the new addition to our group.

"Zoë, what the hell-"he really had no manners. I knew for a fact that our mother raised all three of us to be better than that, end of the world or not…we still needed to keep respect for each other…and other people. I promised Jay I would do that. Pushing myself away from the car my eyes locked with this, mentally communicating with him a way that I hoped he would understand; I highly doubted it though. Much to my surprised he actually understood the eyes I gave him, telling him to 'shut it'. He rolled his eyes and gestured a weak sign of hello towards the man before leaning against the car, his arms crossed over his chest.

"So," Jason asked the man, bending down next to him. The man closed his eyes for a moment, coughing slightly, he shivered. I knitted my brows together as I came and stood to Jason as he continued to interrogate the man; something about him was off. He was clammy, not sweaty, and his lips and face were pale as a ghost. "Where are you headed?"

"Atlanta." The man coughed, running his hands down his face for a moment, wiping the sweat and dirt away from his cheeks. "It's hot outside, ain't it?" he laughed weakly. I smiled, but, uneasily so.

"What a coincidence." Jason smirked half-heartedly, taking a quick glanced in my direction. Obviously we weren't the only people that were heading towards Georgia's capital, I was almost sure that everybody had the same idea about where most of the shelters would have been by now. "We are too."

"Oh," the man's mood seemed to skyrocket at the new information that he had just learned before he erupted into a fit of coughs, his body jolting forwards as he covered his mouth. Jason quickly motioned to Jacob, snapping his fingers in an authoritive manner. 'Jacob, water'. I turned just in time to see Jake's lip curl in a snarl as he looked at Jason in disbelief.

"Dude?" the teen retorted his tone of voice referring to our depleting source of water; Jake was never one to share, even when he was little. Jason stepped towards him, giving him that glare that our father always gave us when we were being disrespectful He mumbled a few things as he angrily stalked towards the back of the car, grabbing a water from the bag he tossed it in my direction harshly. Like I said, my hand eye coordination was shit, but, thankfully I caught it just before it hit the ground, the condensation that was building on the plastic was slippery in my hands. Shooting him a glare I stalked towards Jay and other man, handing him the water. He took it graciously, downing it quickly.

"You know, you folks are awfully kind." He commented, wiping his mouth of the dribbles of water that littered his chin as he set the bottle next to him. I looked up as Jason set the first aid kit beside me on the ground, apparently he saw the way the man had been limping too, and he gave me the go ahead to bandage up his leg if necessary. Now, I'm no nurse, that was my mom's job, but, I'd had many a scratches to tend to during my years of babysitting for kids during the summer months. I smiled and opened the kit; it wasn't much, but, it carried the necessities. Neosporin, bandages, gauze, and a space blanket. I figured I would only need three of those things anyway. "You really don't need to do that-"I hadn't even pulled the pant's leg up before he grabbed my wrist stopping me from going any farther; he looked at me, and I looked at him. I couldn't help but feel uneasy as his pale blue eyes pleaded with mine, silently communicating with me…almost in a begging sort of way. "I said-"before he could protest any farther I pulled the leg up the rest of the way.

"Jay," I yelled, jumping away from the man as if he had burned me. The man on the ground sat there, looking up at me with one of the most painful expressions I'd ever witnessed. It was cross between regret and pleading; the puffy bite on his ankle was too much to ignore. It was an opened wound, the area around it puffy and turning a blackish-purple color as the blood beneath the skin clotted, it was torn, flesh hanging on by a thread. In a flash Jason was at my side, his eyes scanning over the wound; he closed his eyes for a moment, pacing in a small circle before he faced me. He looked at the man for a brief second before he grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the car once more, the gravel crunching under my feet. Jacob joined was momentarily, his face holding pure horror as he looked over my shoulder at the throbbing wound on the man's ankle. Huddling in a small group Jason trained his gaze towards the ground.

"What are we gonna do?" I asked quietly, almost in a whisper. My arms encircled myself as I tried to hide my discomfort from the rest of them; I didn't like the fact that we were discussing what to do with this man. We weren't like the others…

"I- I don't-"

"Leave em'. Dump em'." Jacob answered quickly, looking at the two of us as if this wasn't a matter to be discussed, like it should have been a conditioned response about what to do with him. Those video games he played really had desensitized him, making him unresponsive to all emotion.

"Jake-"I warned him, appalled that he would even think of just leaving a man there with nothing but his fear to run on. I took a look back at him; he was slumped over now, still in his sitting position.

"No," he argued, "You saw what happens." He hissed, gesturing to man that was withering away behind us slowly, dying right before our very eyes. "I don't know about you two, but I'd like to survive for more than two days of the apocalypse." Jason ran a hand over his face slowly; the decision rested on his shoulders, whatever he decided wasn't going to place any of us. It was pretty much an avoidance/avoidance situation; he could turn into a…whatever those things are if we take him with us, or, we could leave him here and feel guilty about letting him die. Neither of these was going to appeal to me.

"Guys," I sighed, looking at Jason, knowing that Jacob was glaring in my direction with those heated brown eyes. "We can't just leave him here," I glanced in the wounded man's direction again, my voice faltering. "Not like that." I shook my head; if I was bitten, I would hope someone would at least try and help me. Jacob scoffed as he rolled his eyes, looking at Jason, with that 'do you believe her' sort of stare, the one that made him look ignorant.

"Yes we can, Zoë." He spoke in a hushed whisper; at least he had enough audacity to lower his tone when we were talking about this stranger's demise. "Look, he's already dead, and we will be too if you take him with us." I didn't understand how someone could be so calloused; I think I finally understood why mom was so worried about him. The teen looked at his superior for backup, my gaze following. I knew this was hard for him, picking sides; the sister who he was closest too, the one that knew his secrets, or the little brother that looked up to him. My heart beat against my chest as Jason continued to stare at the ground, all was silent.

"He's right." Jason whispered, looking up to meet out glances. Jacob leaned up against car door, looking quite satisfied with himself; he had finally won the golden boy over. I just hoped that deep down he felt guilty, guilty for putting an expiration date on this man's forehead, guilty for letting him die alone. "We-we can't risk it, Zoë."

Shaking my head I looked at the two of them, disappointed that either of them would even needed to discuss such a matter as this. Giving the two of them one final glare I turned and looked at the man for a moment, unable to cope with the fact that I played a part in ending his life, but, what was I supposed to do. There was nothing I could argue in this case that would stop them now. I couldn't help but begin to see myself as the rest of the military…even if this man did pose as a threat. Unable to look at the man's expressionless face, for he knew what we had decided, I got into the car slamming the door shut. It was only a few minutes later that Jason was opening the trunk, I turned around and watched him as he took the orange pill container out of the duffle. I glared in the direction of the other passenger seat door as Jacob slid over the hot leather seats as well, avoiding my gaze as he rested his head against the window. I turned aback around as I heard the top of the pill cap pop; Jason poured several of the Oxycodones into the palm of his hand.

"What are you doing?" I inquired my voice bitter and cold as I looked at the white pills that were stacked in his gritty palm. He screwed the top back on and threw the bottle back into the bag as he sighed. He looked back up at me; I could finally see it. He didn't want to do this either, hell, if it were up to him and him alone, he would have loaded that guy into the backseat and taken him with us…if he died on the way we would take care of that. _No man left behind_; he was breaking his code of conduct…his law.

"Zoë, seven of these," he looked down at his hand, "He won't feel a thing." That didn't provide any solace in the fact that we were in fact killing a man, something that I'm sure neither of us had ever done…or planned on doing. We were on our way a few minutes later, my eyes continued to watch the man as he faded behind us, his form blending in with the distance as the car toggled down the road.

* * *

**Day 5 after the outbreak. Location: Deserted strip of highway**

Our chances of being found, or finding anyone else for that matter was slim to nothing; that man, we hadn't even learned his name, was the last living thing that we had encountered in the last five days. So, why did Jason keep changing the route to Warrenton? Was he going to do this when we finally set out for Atlanta as well? I had no clue; every time I turned around he was taking us a different route, ones that took us though parts of Georgia that I didn't even know existed. Jacob and I still weren't on very good terms since the decision incident; we rarely said anything to one another. Come to think of it, we hadn't even encountered one of those things in the last few days either…I was starting to think that there was nothing left. Just wasted land and debris, maybe we were the last. Jason's attitude wasn't helping our situation any either, he was jumpy, and always on the tip of his toes, even at the slightest movement in the trees. So much as a bird fluttering its wings sent is face a shade whiter than a ghost; I could tell that he knew something we didn't, and it stayed that way, he told Jacob and I the essentials and nothing more. I was tired of thinking, tired of wondering…

"Why'd you stop?" Jacob groaned, his head resting against the glass, his mop of brown hair supporting him with a naturally made pillow. I sat with my arms crossed over my chest, and my head resting against the dirty off white pillow that was pressed up against the glass, Jason glanced at me via the rear view mirror; but our eyes met for only a split second before he looked away. He had been acting strange lately as I already explained, every time he looked at either of us he acted like it was the last time we were going to see each other…he may be right about that though. A rumble sounded in the distance and I diverted my gaze towards the menacing looking clouds that were rolling in; gray, dark, and heavy with rain, another rumble sounded.

"We've got to stock up on some firewood." Jason explained as he opened the drivers side door; Jacob groaned and looked back in my direction for support, I rolled my eyes and threw the pillow down onto the floor of the car before opening my own door, glaring at the teen before I stepped out; he didn't stick up for me, so I wasn't going to stick up for him. Another rumble sounded in the distance, the air was heavy and smelled of the impending rain that was coming; thank god, maybe it was take the heat off a bit. Jay went around to the back of the car and opened the trunk, pulling the gun from the back he slung it over his shoulder and looked at me for a moment before training his eyes on the fast moving clouds; sighing he looked back at me…something was wrong. "It's gettin' late. We'll meet back here in five, alright?"

This probably wasn't the safest thing in the world; lightening, combined with trees, and splitting from the group was actually the _worst_ idea anyone had ever come up with. Another rumble in the distance sent my stomach into a series of flips, my heart palpitating against my chest as I quickly gathered another series of sticks from the ground, brushing the dirt on the face of my jeans; _crack_. Somewhere in the ticket of brush and moss and the canopy of overhang a twig snapped, I could tell from the way it sounded that it wasn't just a window maker that had finally succumbed to the rotting within the tree. I stood there for a few more moments, paralyzed. For some reason, standing completely still made me feel like whatever was lucking behind me couldn't see me; if I didn't move I really wasn't there, right? The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I waited to hear another snap, maybe even a snarl of some sort…anything. Nothing, silence; closing my eyes momentarily I calmed myself, the words of reassurance reverberating off the walls of my skull. I matched each reassuring sentence of 'there's nothing there' and 'it's just your imagination' with picking up a twig, not matter how big or small they were, besides, most of the ones I had picked up were skinnier than a beanstalk anyway, and they probably weren't even worthy of being used in a campfire. _Crack, snap, brush; _my head whipped around in search of the culprit, the brush behind me wriggled with the vibrations. I held my breath as I continued to watch the dying shakes of the brush, waiting for a gnarly hand to appear from its depths, or maybe the barrel of a gun or hopefully a small rabbit would appear. I stood for a few moments more, holing my breath…and still nothing.

"You're losing it-"I sighed, turning around, hands shaking.

"_BOO!"_ My breath caught in my throat, the twigs and a few sizable logs that had been held in my hands projected into the air as I fell to the ground, my back landing on the hardening soil. A scream erupted from my throat as I covered my face with my hands, knees drawing up towards my chest in a fetal position; I didn't want to see whatever was in front of me, and I surely didn't want the first part of my body to go to be my face. My body shook with each taunting second that passed…why was this thing taking it's time? Couldn't it just get it over with; I was almost sure that I was going to die of a heart attack within the next few moments if I didn't feel teeth or fingernails ripping at my skin. Laughing; a genuine, hardy, gut-wrenching laugh, my body wracked with spasms of realization as I brought my hands down from my face slowly. My feet planting themselves on the ground as my chest finally found its normal rhythm of it's up and down motion. Jacob better hope those things get to him before I do; a growl, laced more with annoyance than anger, ripped from my throat as I watched the teen bend over with laughter.

"Jacob," I growled, quickly pushing myself up from the ground, brushing the dirt from the back of my hands in one quick sweep of my hand. "You stupid fu-"

"Oh my god," he continued to laugh. Standing upright as he pointed in my direction, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes; I don't really think he understood how dangerous jokes actually were now, actually, I'm not sure if he realized just how dangerous everything he did was. "You should have seen your face." I was never one for practical jokes, fart machines, or the fake fly in the ice cube trick.

"It's not funny, Jake." I spat, resuming my earlier job of collecting sticks, which, I noticed…Jacob didn't seem to have any in his grasp at the moment. Figures; he would neglect his one simple job to do what? Play jokes? Act completely irresponsible? "I could have shot you."

Cue laughter. Jake scoffed a few times before he bent down, my eye catching an extremely rare helping hand. "With what, Zoë?" he snorted, holding the bundle of sticks in his arms as he tossed his mangy hair to the side…we all needed showers, and badly. "You're unarmed." I guess I should make my statements clearer for him next time.

"I mean," I sighed out heavily as I stood up from my bent over position, the sticks cradled in my arms as if I was holding a baby to my chest, protecting it. "Hypothetically, speaking. If I had one, I could have shot you." I explained to the teen, he continued to stare at me with the same blank emotionless expression that I'm almost sure he gave his teachers and my parents alike when they tried to tell him something. An awkward silence filled the air, resembling that of one when something bad was about to happen, you could just feel it in the air, hanging. I could feel an uncomfortable shift in my stomach as it turned inside out; thunder rumbled in the distant, but, there was no wind that usually accompanied an impending storm, birds didn't sing, and the crickets had since ceased their violins, and the air smelled vaguely of rain.

"Bullshit," Jacob laughed, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence that surrounded us. Still huddling the wood to his chest I began to make his way towards the edge of the forest where I had come in from a few minutes earlier. "You wouldn't hurt a fly." I rolled my eyes at his comment, no matter how true it may have been; I've been a bit of a softie, not as soft as Jason, but, quite close. Taking another glance around the still forest I began to follow Jake towards the edge, we had probably already run over our time limit of being away from the safety of the vehicle, though, I was completely sure about how safe that piece of metal actually was. The engine sputtered to a start every time we took a break, we literally held our breath every time Jason took his place in the driver's seat, the ignition clicking…one of these days it wasn't going to start.

"Oh," I drawled out, stepping into place next to Jacob as we pushed through the underbrush of moss and ferns, stepping over the branches that seemed to rip at our attire. "And you would?" I raised an eyebrow as he exited the trees, watching as the station wagon came into view, just beyond the field of tried grass.

"Well, yeah." He shrugged; typical video gamer. They think just because they use a joystick and press 'x' a certain amount of times that they know how to take aim and fire, as if he would have the courage to destroy a living breathing thing…though, it seemed that most were actually living at this point in time, but really, who was I to judge…I hadn't an ounce of killing within me.

"Oh, that's right," I snorted in response. "I forgot that _Left 4 Dead_ made you a qualified sharp shooter." I vaguely remember buying Jacob that came a few Christmases ago, I was never one for the whole first person shooter type things; actually, it had been a good eight years since I'd actually picked up a video game controller. I turned and smirked in his direction as we continued to near the vehicle, Jason was already loading wood into the trunk from what I could tell, at least, I hoped that the figure we were watching was Jason.

"No, no." Jacob quickly corrected me, wagging a finger in my direction. "_Call of Duty_ does that, Zoë. Get your stuff straight." The bond that siblings and relatives shared never ceased to surprise me, no matter how mad we were at each other, no matter what situation we were in…our ties never broke…no matter what. Shaking my head and flashing a smile I mumbled a 'whatever' to his response.

* * *

**Kent [Location: Woods]**

"Fucking trees," The irate solider hissed, moving his position once again; Kent never lost his cool when it came to getting a job done, then again, he'd never been given in assignment such as this…and it would be a cold day in hell before he gave up on one. Peering through the scope on the top of his gun once more he watched the figures moving about on the ground; the taller one still had a gun slung over his shoulder, the other two younger ones followed him like a shadow…especially the boy. First, it was just take out Portman; he could do that. Then, it was changed, no longer did he have to take a man's life and leave him on the side of the road for the creatures or the birds to devour as they saw fit, now, he had to bring him in…along with the two other members of his family. He shifted again as his elbows dug into the dirt of the mossy hill he was hidden atop of, his lips smacking together as he chewed the piece of gum like a cow would chew cud. A nasty smirk twisted onto his face as the older target on the ground looked in his direction.

"I know you see me." Kent mumbled, smacking the gum around his mouth again. Even if they did manage to get into the vehicle before the rest of the squad arrived…they wouldn't make it very far; Kent made sure of that…

"Get ready to move." He spoke into the small speaker that was attached to his shoulder pads, listening to the euphoric sound of the crackling static before another voice answered over the line. _"Affirmative."_

* * *

**The Portman's [Zoë's Pov]**

"That should be enough for another week." Jason commented, wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead as he turned to face Jacob and I again; I knitted my brows, he'd been acting strange lately. Sometimes he'd stare off into the distance like he was looking at something, but, every time I followed his gaze I couldn't see what he saw…if he was seeing anything at all. I shrugged slightly before rubbing my hands on the face of my jeans, still trying to rid my palms of the smell of moss and grime that was settling into my clothes and seeping under my finger nails; these shelters in Atlanta better have a hot shower waiting for us when we get there.

"Yeah," I shifted uneasily, watching as Jason shifted his gaze towards the thicket of trees once again; and as always, I followed…but I could see nothing. "But we don't need it that long." I stated nervously, "I mean if we get an early start tomorrow we can get to Warrenton." This was our usual conversations went, and like a broken record, he always came back with the same answer, 'we're almost there…we just need to take a shortcut' I'm almost positive that we had exhausted every 'short cut' known to man by this point, taking five days to get to a town that was a mere four hour drive from where we were now was unacceptable.

"Yeah," he answered quickly, facing me finally; a wanton look in his eye. Jason was hiding something else, and from the way he was acting I'm almost sure it was bigger than the previous information that he had brought to light a few days ago. "I was just…thinking ahead." Thinking ahead…in the case of what exactly-

"Uhh, guys," The tone of Jacob's voice was enough to send my heart tumbling into my stomach, and my blood to turn to ice. I quickly spun around, facing the teen that was standing near the front of the vehicle, his eyes trained towards the ground, pointing. I quickly moved to his side, my own gasp catching in my throat as I looked at the tires of the vehicle; the front left tire was slashed, the hiss of air could sill be heard leaking.

"Oh my god, Jay-"_Click_; the sound reverberated off the still air, for some reason it was louder than the rumbling of the coming storm. I froze almost instantly; either Jason had lost his mind, or… I turned around quickly, suppressing a scream as I grabbed Jacob pulling him against me protectively as I looked at the scene in front of me. Jason's hands extended towards the air in surrender as the man in front of him cocked the gun again; a gas mask adorned the _soldier's _face, obscuring his features. This is what Jason was worried about, I had it all figured out now; the way he'd be acting, the way he starred off into space, into the trees…he knew they were following us.

"_Alright, Portman, this ends right now." _The muffled voice rang out through what little room he had left to speak in; my eyes grew wide as Jacob clutched at my wrists, his body shaking, mine mirroring his exactly. I felt if I blinked I would miss something, maybe even never reopen my eyes if I did. Still training my vision on the irate individual that was holding Jason at gunpoint my lips parted in a shaking whimper.

"Jason-"I pleaded, afraid.

"Shut up, Zoë." Jason ordered his voice stern and still holding a sense of authority. The solider tipped his chin in my direction, never once lowering the gun as he motioned to Jacob and I, I cringed.

"_Yeah, Zoë_." He mused in a taunting voice, _"I think you should listen to your brother this time."_ I continued to watch the solider as he moved his head to the side, the sound of a radio crackled somewhere beneath his clothing before he spoke into it. _"Sir, come in over." _

My vision flashed to Jason as I watched his body step forward carefully, his hands still held high above his head; I watched him carefully as his arms lowered, one his hands motioning something as it slipped behind his back, his fingers moved in a waving motion. If I was in a better state of mind I would have deciphered it right away as being a signal for us to run, as frozen as we were right now…I'm not sure if I could even move if I tried. _"Don't you fuckin' move."_ The gun was on Jason again, the gas masked covered face starring at him head on. The radio crackled again; I'd heard that man's voice somewhere before. _"This is Sanderson. Over."_ A week ago; the car, I remembered it just like it was yesterday…Jason knew him.

"_Sanderson?" _the gas mask asked, his voice irate and skeptical, at least, that's what I could gather from it. _"Where's General Tennyson."_ Movement; in the midst of it all Jason was still doing the windshield wiper motion with his hand behind his back, his eyes glancing back at us for a moment. I slowly looked down at the vehicle, it was big enough to hide behind if something…I looked back up abruptly, no, Jay- _"Not in at the moment,"_ the crackle carried in the wind, _"What do you need son?"_ I had a pretty good idea about what Jason was planning to do, it was a heroic deed, foolish, dangerous, but heroic nonetheless. My grip on Jacob tightened as I slowly began to maneuver us towards the front of the car, ready to duck any second; every time the solider made so much as a jerk in our direction we stopped, fear coursing though our veins. _"I've got Portman."_ He spoke into the radio again; the voice on the other line seemed surprised as they asked for confirmation of this feat, like we were worth something. I always thought the military would help us in a situation like this, when the world went to shit they were always there to contain the crowds, ensure peace…

Jason moved forward slowly, his hand held down by his sides slightly. Jacob and I moved against his own steps, our backs arching as we stepped backward around the front of the car. _"One more move Portman!"_ I cringed at the sound of his voice, _"And I'll blow your brains all over the fucking place." _Jay stopped abruptly, and I could faintly hear Jacob's shaking voice whispering something to me; but then it all happened so fast. The next thing I knew Jason was rushing at the armed solider who had fallen for the oldest 'look behind you!' trick in the book, I pushed Jacob behind the car my body shielding his as I listened to the sounds. I turned my head slightly, my eyes trailing over the blades of dead grass that were rotting away beneath the vehicle, but from this perspective I could see their feet dancing in sync gun fire torn through the air. The sound of flesh connecting with flesh, grunts. It was like I was in a bad movie; Jacob pushed me away from him as he sat up, his back resting against the grill of the car and his eyes wild with fear. A few more punches sounded followed by the consequence of grunts, though, I wasn't sure if it was Jason or the other man. It took every ounce of strength I had to stand up from my spot on the soil. I did so slowly, taking my time as my body continued to shake with fear, my knees wobbling as I slowly made my way around the vehicle. A sigh of relief trickled from my throat as I looked at Jason; his chest rose and fell heavily as he looked down at the ground.

I'd never seen Jason this angry before, I didn't even think it was possible for him to reach this level; but, I guess desperate times calls for desperate measures. Approaching the scene slowly, my eyes drug over the grass, noting the shell casings that littered the soil beneath my feet. Jason looked in my direction, his heel pressed against the man's throat; the look in his eyes was more frightening than any of those creatures that we had encountered, it was full of fire and hatred…and malice…something I didn't even know Jason could possess.

"Zoë, the gun." He jerked his head in the direction of the gun that was lying on the ground next to the two of them; I stood there for a moment, wondering if my eyes were deceiving me. I hadn't witnessed Jason use a gun since this whole ordeal broke out…and I sure as hell had never handled one. "Zoë!" snapping out of my trance I rushed forward, grabbing the piece of the deadly metal in my hand before I passed it off to him. I jumped as Jason cocked the gun with almost expert precision, the barrel pointed at the man's face.

"Who sent you?" Jason demanded; he really had lost it…either that or he had to at least act like he was tough. The man beneath the heel of his boot chuckled, blood pushing up from his busted lip; I was starting to think maybe this guy had lost it too. "Who sent you?" Jason screamed, his voice on the edge of breaking, the metal pressed against the man's head as he pushed his heel farther onto his neck; the man coughed. The look in Jay's eyes sent my stomach into a frenzy; actually, it was the look I didn't see that worried me the most. There was no emotion in his eyes, face, gestures…just primal.

"Jason! Don't!" I pleaded, I didn't want to think about what killing someone would do to him; I'm sure the solider beneath him had killed many people, maybe here, or maybe in his days overseas…but you could clearly see he was seasoned; as opposed to Jason who hadn't even served in combat.

"Sanderson." The man's voice gurgled.

"Son of a bitch." Jason seethed, the gun never leaving the man's forehead as he looked beside him frantically; Jacob stood beside me, his eyes wide with fear as he watched his 'hero' manhandling his 'brother in arms.' I watched Jason's irate and jerky movements as he reached beside him, grabbing the gas mask that was lying off to the side of the two of them. "What are these for?" Jason demanded, holding the mask above the man's head; again, the man didn't answer, only a patronizing chuckle. "What in the fuck are these for?" he demanded again, clicking the safety off of the gun; my flew up to cover my mouth as I watched Jason's lips twist into a snarl, I really hoped this act he was putting on didn't persist any farther after this was over.

"They-" the man gurgled again from under him, his lips parting in a cough as he tried to catch his breath, his fingers gripping at the toes of Jason's boots, " They think the virus is airborne." Jacob whispered a slew of curse words from beside me, his body turning in a circle as he paced. Airborne, the word repeated in my head a thousand times over before it finally registered with me; if this 'sickness' was airborne, and we didn't understand the incubation period...My stomach churned, threatening to spill the contents of what little food I had eaten the last few days. He said they think…he did say they knew for sure.

"Zoë," Jason's voice brought me back from the land of my morbid and racing thoughts, his arm out stretched towards me. I looked down at his hands as he passed the two extra gas masks that had fallen out of the pack that was lying on the ground; they were heavy in my hands as I looked down at them, the realization finally sinking in once more. Looking up from the devices in my hand I watched as Jason smacked the butt of the gun against the man's face, cringing slight at the cracking sound that filled the air. The man beneath his boot went limp almost instantly, though, I'm not naive enough to think he killed him…that was a stretch. Jason quickly, like the gun had bit him, dropped in onto the ground with a thud.

"Jason, can- can we get out of here." I pleaded, coming to stand behind him, knees quivering with fear as I watched him rummage though the pack with much haste, pulling things here and there, examining them quickly and if they weren't needed he threw them off to the side without a second thought. Ignoring my pleas and Jacob's excessive pacing and whining he tore several things from inside of the pack, including, from what I could see; a first aid kit, a small case of some sort, and a…

"Take this, hurry up." I looked down at the small gun as Jason quickly pressed it into the palm of my hand; it felt foreign and heavy, my hand began to shook as I wrapped my hand around the handle…did I really have to become like this to survive.

"Jason," I could already feel the tears burning at the back of my eyes as I watched him grab the black pack out of the trunk of the car, shoving whatever he could find inside of it. Jacob continued to pace in his own little area, mumbling things along the lines of 'this isn't happening' as he shuffled his feet in the dirt. "What's- what's going on…Jay!" It was almost as if I wasn't even there, my voice floated off into a fit of assumptions and panic as he continued to ignore my tirade that was unfolding. "What is going on?" I screamed, voice cracking. He turned to me quickly, his eyes wild, mouth moving at an incredible speed…

"They know where-"Shot after shot after shot filled the void that Jason's voice would have been occupying. Without even thinking I hit the ground in a fit of screams, the pistol I was holding flung from my grasp and landed somewhere on the grassy earth as I covered my head with my hands; my voice faded in with the rest of the horrific sounds that were blaring in the vicinity. Glass littered the ground, raining down on me as I pulled my legs into the fetal position, Jacob's unmistakable fear riddled voice screamed the only word that came to his mind over and over again….and just like that…it was over. The assault was fast, and I had reason to believe that Jason was the only one that had actually seen it coming.

"Shit! Shit! Oh, my god!" Jacob's voice rang out several more times; I didn't move. I lay there for a few more moments, my hands still crossed over the back of my head, body shaking with jolt after jolt of fear as it continued to course throughout my body. They tried to kill us…they were sent to kill us. Making it to Atlanta or Warrenton...or where ever Jason was leading us, seemed like a lost cause at this point, maybe there was no help. Jacob's screams had died down a bit, and after what seemed like a lifetime I finally lifted my head from the musty smelling earth. I first noticed the bullet holes that were embedded in the vehicle just where I had been standing a few moments ago, glass littered the ground and crunched under the weight of my hands as I slowly pushed myself up from the ground.

"Jay," I asked, voice shaking; I half expected him to have been calming us down throughout the ordeal, shouting orders for us to stay low…asking if we were okay. I looked around carefully, eyes bulging with paranoia and alertness as I scanned the vicinity; a cough caught my attention. "Oh- Jason!" the strangled cry left my mouth several times as I stumbled towards him, my brain still trying to take in the sight that was laying before me on the ground. My legs felt like jelly as I collapsed next to him on the ground, my hands immediately going to the sides of his face. "Jason!" I screamed again, shaking him lightly, my hands dropping from his face as they covered the red spot on his chest. The wound was already bleeding profusely, the red crimson liquid leaking over my fingers in streams as I continued to press down on it; I mean, that was my first reaction, apply pressure and stop the bleeding…

"Jacob!" I screamed, lifting my head for a moment as I looked for the teen; don't panic, don't panic. Jason opened his eyes slowly, his lips moving in an inaudible whisper of sorts "Jay," I said carefully, stroking the side of his face with my fingers, trying to elicit a response from him. "Jay, we've gotta get you up okay?" I panicked, if I thought I could lift a man that was two hundred and something pounds, and that's not even with the little muscle that Jay had, I was sorely mistaken, but, that didn't stop me from trying. It was strange, what adrenaline mixed with fear did for the body in times like this; wrapping my arms around him I struggled the pull him into a sitting position, his head whipping forward. "Jacob, help me!" I screamed in a panic, listening as the teen's sneakers beat against the dirt as he joined me, I looked up…I'd never seen a black kid so white…

"Zoë," Jason panted, the word coming out in a mere whisper as I continued to try and pull him to his feet; a whirling overhead caught my attention. This was unbelievable, they weren't going to stop until we were wiped off the face of the earth, were they? Still I pulled, my nails digging into Jay's back as I tried to heave him to his feet, and tears brimmed my eyes. "They know-"

"Shh," I quickly shushed him, my bottom lip quivering as I once again tried to lift him up. Jacob was too frozen with fear to even move a muscle; if I couldn't get Jason up…I couldn't save him… I _have_ to save him. "Come on, Jay." I grunted, pulling on him again. He coughed again, this time; instead of specks of spit falling from his lips…the liquid was tinted crimson and smelled like iron. I shook my head, lips pushing together as I tried to hold the tears back…I could cry later…but right now, I needed to get him out of here. The chopper over head continued to whirl with a growl, testing my ability to work under pressure.

"You need to go." He pleaded again, blood dribbling over his lips as he coughed slightly; try as I might, I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. Pulling away from him he looked at me, his lips quivering, eyes pooling with fear and regret. I shook my head in a protest as I turned towards Jacob screaming several times to get his attention before he actually jumped up from his spot and rushed towards the trunk of the car, his fingers sifting through the logs as he threw them out one by one.

"No, Jay, I'm gonna get you outta here, alright?" I reassured him, reapplying pressure to his chest once again. He grunted in protest as I desperately tried to lift him again, putting all of his weight back into himself he collapsed back onto the ground.

"Stop," he ordered me, his hands reaching up as he grasped my face in his hands; quiet sobs wracked my body as I watched more blood pool at the corners of his mouth, his eyes fluttering closed for a few seconds before he responded them. "You've got to go-get-get you and Jake out-out of here. Okay?"

"No, no Jay." I protested, tugging on his body again, the whirling over ahead had ceased for a few moments, but I looked up the chopper was circling back around. "Remember, no man left behind." I tried to force a smile upon my face but it proved futile as I watched more crimson liquid leak from between his lips, his face paler than a ghost and body shaking with fear.

"You've got to go," I repeated again, and again, I shook my head in protest. "Don't worry about me, alright?" he took a deep breath, sputtering. I couldn't shake the feeling of Déjà vu that washed over me at his words; dad had said the same thing before we lost contact with him… "You've gotta take care of Jacob, okay? Get yourself to Atlanta." He wanted me to leave him; he was going to sacrifice himself…for his family, probably his only remaining family.

"No, Jason. I'm- I'm not leaving you."

"Yes, you have to go."

"No"

"Jacob, get her out of here!"

"Jason I'm not going anywhere!" our voices intertwined in a mess of sobs and shouts as I tried to over power his words, I was no doctor, but from the look of things he wasn't doing good; even with me applying pressure, blood still cascaded over my fingers, and I could see his face losing color.

"Please," with shaking hands Jason reached up and grasped mine, prying them away from his chest; I was numb to anything that was going on around me now, the whirling from the chopper, the dark clouds that were rolling in, Jacob's muffled sobs…. "Get out of here. Jacob," the voice was soft, eyelids heavy. My bloody hands dug into the earth as I fell back, still trying to comprehend, no, it was more like me trying to come to terms what with was happening. I watched as Jake neared Jason, falling to his knees beside his fallen hero. Jacob wasn't going to be the same after this…neither of us were. I couldn't tell what Jason was whispering to the teen; the most I could only make out a few nods and muffled 'oks' before he turned back to face me, his cheeks stained with tears.

"Zoe, let's go. Please," Jason turned his head to the side, blood still trickling over his lips as he looked off in the distance, following his gaze we watched the military personnel nearing our direction; that's when it finally hit me, or maybe it was because Jacob was pulling me up from the soil, tugging at my shirt until I finally found the strength to stand, but not move. "Zoe, we have to go!" he pleased, I could tell he was trying his best to forget about the dying kin that was before us, his breathing ragged and forced as he moved his hand in our direction, telling us once again to leave. As if I couldn't move on my own Jacob tugged on my arm, half pushing, and half pulling me towards the direction of the woods that we were just in…it was the only direction that we could go in without getting caught. Knowing that our only option was fight or flight didn't stop my ravings, screaming Jason's name and hearing him reply was the only thing that helped me remember that he was in fact still alive…for the time being. The branches and shrubs gripped at our clothes as we all but dove into the forest, falling against trees that were stationed near the edge; Jacob sank down against a large stump, eyes closed as he leaned his head back. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision as the tears continued to fall from my eyes, each time I tried to blink them away new ones fought their way forward. I leaned up against the tree, keeping my balance as I watched the uniformed officer's approach…

* * *

**At the Car; Time: Unknown**

Tennyson ducked his head as he exited the chopper, reaching in his back pocket he pulled a cigar from its' depths; it had been a rough last couple of days. Especially today, if it had of been up to him, Portman would have been taken out days ago…but no, Sanderson had to let it drag on for almost a week before doing anything about the situation. Placing the cigar to his lips he reached into his front pocket and produced the lighter that his father had given him at the end of his basic training when he was just a young man, her cherished this thing more than his own life. His eyes dragged over the dry grass, the dirt that crunched under his feet, the trees, the clouds; everything looked dead to him now. He could hear a few orders being shouted here and there as he continued to approach the station wagon that looked as if it had seen better days; he had to admit, Jason Portman had managed to do what most people wouldn't even dream of doing. Avoiding the military was a difficult feat, especially when you're the sole reason why there's a man hunt in the first place. Tennyson whistled as he surveyed the damage, kicking the shell casings out of his way, grinding them into the dirt; the car housed several entry shots from every angle, blood spray could clearly be seen on the back bumper.

Tennyson took his time surveying the damage, noting the logs that had been removed from the back seat, the empty bag that was laying next to the two soldiers; he hadn't even noticed an unconscious Kent until he moved closer to Jason, who was still very much alive…just how Tennyson wanted him. "Well damn," Tennyson knew he would have to retire soon as he listened to his bones creak like an old door as he bent down; this endeavor was personal to him. "Portman, you us sent us on quite the goose chase."

Jason clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the irony taste of the crimson liquid. After he talked to Jacob everything around him became a blur, anything he looked at multiplied by two and danced in front of him in a taunting manner; he just hoped that they made it out of this area before the military caught up with them. He tried to ignore the man's taunting tone, his eyes at the same time trying to focus as his head spun; he made a sound, one of pain, he had never been shot before until this day…but for some reason he thought maybe the pain would have been numbed by now. "What's that son?" Tennyson smiled, keeping the cigar tight between his lips, the oak taste filling his mouth. "You almost got away, almost." He continued to taunt the dying man, but Jason ignored him, doing the best he could to think of the good things in life. The seasoned Veteran's face fell for a moment; he wanted a response out of the boy, an insult…it lets him know that he's doing his job right…he wanted Jason to hate him.

"Huh," he snickered, finally getting a good look at the unconscious solider that was laying close by. He never thought he'd see Kent so…quiet. The boy was always talking, cursing everything he saw, and if he really didn't like you…you got an even worse verbal beating than the rest of them; the boy's nose was bleeding. "Guess you ain't quite the pansy that I thought you were."

Turning his attention back to Jason he removed the cigar from between his lips, blowing the foul smelling smoke into his face…still he got no reaction. "Pathetic, Portman. Can you," he laughed slightly, holding the cigar between his fingers again, "Can you believe that you're going to die like this? I bet that never even crossed your mind." Still no response; Jason still had the same attitude he did back in school, when people would pick on him he'd give them the cold shoulder, his father told him that was the best way to get rid of them.

"Well," Tennyson shrugged, "At least you ain't gonna go out like your siblings." Jason's eyes flashed to the menacing general quickly, and the silver haired man smiled…just where he wanted him. "Yeah, Portman," he smirked, "We ain't goin' after them. We figure the geeks'll find em in a few hours."

It was true, Tennyson didn't see the need to lead a mob to find the rest of the Portman clan, well, the ones that were left anyway; there was no way that those two spineless individuals could ever defend themselves against those things, it was just less blood on his hands, metaphorically speaking. "Probably tear your sister apart first." Jason couldn't fight his jaw from trembling as the man spoke, he knew he was right; Zoe and Jacob didn't know anything about combat, fear would be the only thing driving them at this point…and being afraid made people do some really stupid things. "Then that brother of yours…" Tennyson trailed off as he watched the boy's jaw move, red liquid seeping from the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Fuck you." Jason wheezed, using his last bit of strength to verbally assault the individual that single handily ruined his life. Tennyson smiled; he finally broke him.

"That's got to be a terrible feeling," he sighed, putting up a facade of disappointment, "knowing that you killed your own family…" shrugging his shoulders again he threw the cigar down onto the ground, brushed his knees off as he stood, and looked Jason in the eye, making a mental note of the time and place where the boy spent his last few moments. "Alright boys," Tennyson glanced around at the four soldiers that had joined him, nodding in the direction of Portman; Jason closed his eyes, and took once last breath. "Let's put this dog out of his misery…"

* * *

**Woods [Zoe's Pov]**

A choked scream vibrated in my throat as I watched the flash of gunfire tear into the earth where we had left Jason; I could feel my eyes well with tears once again, the salty liquid forming a stream from my eyes as my fingers nails dug into the moss that was growing on the tree, in fact if that hadn't been there to catch me I would have been on the ground by now. My legs felt weak as Jacob tugged on my arm, my eyes unable to tear them away from the chopper that was lifting into the air, the soldiers that were sticking their heads out of the doorway and admiring their latest kill; it made me sick. No matter how much I wanted to go back to that spot, to see Jason one more time…I couldn't bring myself to do it. Hoisting the pack onto my shoulders we quickly pushed our way through the thicket of trees, ignoring the hovering mosquitoes and spiders weaving their homes, the puddles from the previous rain, the slick moss. I didn't realize how long we had been walking until we reached another edge of the forest; for miles and miles it was nothing but desolate land and abandoned roads, if it weren't for what we had just witnessed the sun sitting beyond the trees would have been a beautiful sight, the sky painted red and orange like Van Gogh himself took his brush to the sky.

My body, emotionally and physically exhausted, gave in to its demand for rest, and almost seemingly against my will it collapsed itself on a mossy log. The sun was hot on my face as I looked the distance, replying the last few hours in my mind; _take care of Jacob._ Jason knew they were coming for us, he knew this would eventually happen…that it would eventually just be Jacob and I. The thought itself scared me shitless, I didn't know how to control a teen, and how could I when I was just shy of a true adult myself? But isn't this why our parents raised us the way they did? To help each other, be there when we needed one another… I was all Jacob had left, and he was all I had left…he was my responsibility.

"Zoe," his voice was soft, and I couldn't help but catch onto distance that it held, almost as if he was off in his own world still, a world where our parents were with us, where Jason was writing us letters, a world where death wasn't present at every corner. "What are we doing?"

The question caught me off guard for moment; he was already looking to me for our next move, I wanted to kick myself fin the face right now and get it over with; I wasn't a leader, hell, I didn't even know how to read a fucking map. Rummaging through the pack I pulled the map from its depths, immediately handing it to the teen. "You were in boy scouts right?" Jacob nodded slowly, "You're in charge of the map." As if he had been holding his breath for the last hour his shoulders relaxed, and he nodded again. Standing up I pulled him into a half embrace, my arm slung around his shoulder as I slowly propelled us towards the hill; in any other situation Jacob would have pulled away from me, mumbling something about 'getting away from him', but right now, we needed each other.

"Where are we going?" he mumbled. I sighed out heavily, that was a question that I was not prepared to answer, but this was the only think I knew how to do right now…

"To find mom and dad…"

**A/N:** Eh, this is so-so, but, from the look of things our favorite survivors should be making an entrance in Chapter 11! I'm trying to work them in earlier, but, hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
